Dusk
by Asha3
Summary: //AU SasuSaku// Disappearing classmates, a suddenly empty house, and a mysterious new student. Sakura's fate took grave twist when she met Sasuke, and her life was not the only thing he is after.
1. Disappear in Existence

Disclaimer: Naruto was copyrighted to Masashi Kishimoto. I'm just borrowing characters.

* * *

**Dusk**

_A Naruto Fanfiction_

Based loosely on Eternal Soul by Yuana Kazumi.  
M rated for violence, language, and innuendo.

Full Summary  
[AU, darkfic, SasuSaku. Disappearing classmates, a suddenly empty house, a mysterious new student. What seemed to be minor mystery had turned out to be a nightmare. Sakura's life took a major life-threatening twist when she met Sasuke, and her life might not be the only thing he is after.

* * *

_I have been having these weird dreams lately._

_A pitch black… endless darkness,_

_A girl was screaming… distantly …in agony,_

_An overwhelming pain in my chest …the burn in my eyes._

_Am I …crying?_

_A scent of blood…_

_… his scent …my scent._

* * *

**Dusk**

**Chapter 1 : Disappear in Existence**

* * *

_Konoha Academy for the Gifted, Lunchtime_

Finding seat in the Student Cafeteria during lunch break was practically hopeless, unless you are in for a bloodbath. No, seriously, it was impossibly crowded. On one corner, a large group of boys were always fighting for the limited today's special, Monday was usually the Super Delicious Extremely Enormous Tuna Pizza Sandwich. With that super long title, who wouldn't want it, right? On the other side, the ramen stand was overloaded with students. The ramen was suspiciously addicting with a really low price, the owner must have put something into it. It was a catastrophe, or in Sakura's opinion, a fight between barbarians.

That was why Sakura, Ino, and Hinata usually stayed away from the cafeteria and brought their own lunch. It was just more peaceful and less-tiring that way. They had started this Lunch Club back from their freshmen years. Hinata would bring most of the meal, Ino would provide the rice, and Sakura would supply the picnic appliances since she could not cook to save the day. The three of them would find a spot in the garden because there were many shady trees in Konoha Academy. During winters they would gather in Sakura's classroom, huddled comfortably near the heater.

The three off them were an odd pair because of their clashing personality, but Sakura thought that was the reason they were so inseparable. Ino was an energetic girl with a short fuse, Hinata was a shy and timid girl who was wiser beyond her age, and Sakura is the cheerful one and a real optimist.

"Hey, have you heard? About the new student?" asked Ino with a mouthful of Hinata's Special Tamagoyaki.

Hinata shook her head and continued to nibble on her rice.

Sakura tilted her head, "No, who is the new student?"

Ino swallowed with as much gracefulness she could manage before continuing, "'Heard some first years talking. They saw Rock Lee escorting him around the school. Black hair with blue tint, charcoal eyes, pale complexion."

Sakura resisted a snort. Yamanaka Ino and her boy dictionary. Ino likes to know everything, as she liked to call her self, the Gossip Queen. Sakura thought the description fits Ino very well, the girl was naturally curious and outspoken. Contrary to popular belief, Ino was also pretty smart; she could think really fast once she had gotten interested in something. Sakura loved her to bits, they were best friends.

"Umm," Hinata started after finishing her third sausages.

Sakura and Ino turned and gave the lavender-eyed girl a smile. It was rare that the shyest of the three willingly offer her opinion.

"Don't you think Lee-san was just talking to a classmate, Ino?" said the Hyuuga girl with eyes peaking under her bangs.

Sakura pointed her red chopsticks to Ino, "She got a point you know."

Ino frowed, she did not understand why her friends do not share her enthusiasm. "No way! I have not seen girls giggle that loudly since Hyuuga Neji. No one in the Junior year is that hot!" The blonde smirked mischievously towards Sakura.

Sakura blushed as pink as her hair.

The blonde grinned. "I knew it! Something must have happened between the Hyuuga and you! Spill the beans, Sakura!"

Sakura quickly stuffed her mouth with Inari Sushi.

Hinata giggled.

That was a mistake.

Ino turned to the shy girl and gave an evil grin. With the speed that rivals lightning, the Gossip Queen had the helpless girl in a headlock, holding blue chopsticks with a large amount of wasabi in front of the other girl's mouth. "Spill, Hinata! You know something, right?!"

Hinata was red in the face and made a series of pitiful whimper, arms flying everywhere, face turned as far as possible from the green paste. Hinata hated anything spicy, wasabi was her greatest enemy.

Sakura sweat dropped, still chewing her Inari Sushi.

Ino had always enjoyed 'torturing' Hinata, the shy girl would make the weirdest sound and expression. The first time Ino met Hinata, she had the timid girl in a bear hug for an entire lunch break, screaming "Cute!" endlessly. Their relationship had kind of grown from there.

Hinata turned teary eyes to Sakura. "Sakura-chan…," she whimpered.

Sakura was half tempted to leave them be, since they made such an entertaining sight. In the end, she swallowed her sushi and sighed. "Ino-pig, cut it out! Hinata is about to choke!"

Ino instantly let go of Hinata with a victory smile. "So?" Ino knew her friend was going to spill anyway; still she took the chance to tease Hinata.

Sakura took a large gulp of cold green tea before sighing again. She turned her brilliant green eyes to the blonde, "It's like this…."

As Sakura recited the story to Ino, she could not help but feel wary at the growing mischievous grin on the young blonde's face.

_Dammit, she was so doomed._

* * *

_Konoha Academy for the Gifted, Track Practice_

After the afternoon classes were over, there was of course the club practice. Academics were not the only thing you need to be a competent personnel after all. In Konoha Academy, students are free to join any extracurricular activities. There were several variable choices, boarding from sports to the questionable such as Ghost Hunting Club.

Running had always been Sakura's favorite sport. That was why she joined the school's track team despite having Gai-Sensei as the coach. She loved the sound of the wind drumming her ears as she dashed across the field. It felt like she was flying, and somehow she had always found her body really light. It was a talent of hers.

Looking around the track field as Gai-Sensei took attendance, she felt something was off.

"Okay!" Gai-Sensei shouted youthfully gaining everyone's attention, "I see that everyone's here. Now we will start with the usual 10 laps around the field, and then…"

Gai-Sensei was a slave-driver. He had this crazy training menu for everyone. Ten to fifteen laps around the field, 20 times a hundred meters sprints, 10 times a hundred meters crab-crawling, 50 sit ups, and so on. It was almost impossible to follow the menu except you had a 'shining energy of youth' such as Rock Lee, the track team captain.

Sakura suddenly realize what was wrong. Her hand shoot up for permission to speak, "Gai-Sensei! Lee-san is not here yet!"

Gai raised an eyebrow and looked at his pink-haired student queerly. "Who is that, Haruno? A new member?"

Sakura blinked. "Haha, very funny Sensei! You can't possibly forget Lee-san! He's the Captain!" Sakura replied with a dry humor. _Not to mention that he's your favorite_, she said to her inner self.

Gai was still looking at her strangely, before laughing merrily and patted her head. "Haruno! I know being Captain is a pressure, but you don't have to act like that to decline the position!" The tall sensei gave Sakura his 100 watt smile and a thumb up. "No worries, o student of mine! Your youth will guide you!"

Now Sakura was really confused. "What? But Sensei-"

Gai ushered her to start doing the laps, "It's okay, Haruno! Sensei will help you! Now start running!"

Sakura had no choice but followed his instruction. She felt pretty lost. Due to some unknown situation, Lee was gone and she was now the Track Team Captain. Had Gai-Sensei been playing with her? How could he forget about Lee-san? Did Lee-san quit? That might explain the sensei's odd behavior. Gai must have taken the news fairly hard and was now in denial.

She hastened her pace to catch TenTen that was a few meters ahead. TenTen should know what was going on since she was Lee's classmate. "Ne, TenTen-san do you know what happened to Lee-san?"

TenTen gave her the same funny look, "What are you saying, Sakura-san? We both know that there is no 'Lee'. You shouldn't play such a strange joke, people might get confused."

The bun-haired girl shook her head and picked up her pace, leaving Sakura behind.

Sakura was officially lost.

What was going on? Had they had a fight or something? She thought that the fight-sulk-ignore thing was only for elementary students. The pinknette sighed tiredly. How childish.

* * *

_Konoha Academy for the Gifted, After School_

The classroom was almost empty when Hyuuga Neji finally showed up in Sakura's class.

Sakura approached him with a smile. "Neji-san, good evening!"

Neji nodded in acknowledgement, "Sakura-san."

Sakura almost giggled at his stiff response. Neji was a very serious person; he put significance in everything he did. He was very discipline in his Karate routines and that was exactly why he was the team's captain. People respect his straight-forward manners and charisma. Most of the female population in Konoha Academy is a member of his fan club.

Including Sakura, but she would die before she admitted it to his face.

"Practice was really hard today!" said Sakura cheerfully to start a conversation. "I think I won't be able to get up tomorrow!"

The corner of Neji's lips twitched in an-almost-smile. "Are you ready?"

"Yes!"

_Go home? Hell yeah!_

They started their walk home in silence, but soon after Sakura began to tell about her day. Neji gave an occasional nod to show that he was paying attention. Sakura actually did not mind the one-sided conversation, at least she knew that her boyfriend was paying attention.

Yes. Haruno Sakura was dating Hyuuga Neji.

Inner Sakura was screaming "Hell Yeah!" and danced away in victory.

Their relationship had only been going for a month. Neji had asked her out after the Konoha Academy Culture Festival Committee Decommission Party. They kept it secret as much as possible, mostly because Neji's fan girls might murder Sakura on the spot if they caught the wind of it.

Only a few people knew about their relationship. Hinata was the one who set them up, that little deceiving pixie. Nara Shikamaru, Sakura's biology partner, also knew solely out of his exceptional observation skill. Ino knew since Sakura spilled the news during lunch break earlier that day. Sakura had convinced (threatened, bullied, intimidated) the Gossip Queen so the blonde promised (reluctantly) not tell anyone.

On Neji's side, there was TenTen, his childhood friend. Sakura couldn't shake the feeling that TenTen had been colder to her this past month. TenTen must have liked Neji too, Sakura decided. The pinknette actually felt uncomfortable, she did not like making anyone sad.

Now that she was thinking about that, she vaguely remembered that Lee used to be Neji's classmate. Neji might know what was going on.

Sakura turned to the Karate Captain, "Ne, Neji-san, do you know what happened to Lee-san? Is he sick or something?"

"Lee?"

Sakura nodded, "Yes, Rock Lee. Weren't you friends with him during freshmen years?"

Neji furrowed his eyebrows in thought. His lavender eyes took a deeper shade of violet.

The fan girl side of Sakura squealed in exhilaration, but outer Sakura managed to maintain a fairly straight face.

It was a while before Neji finally answered, "I don't recall knowing any Rock Lee, Sakura-san. Not even in freshmen years."

"Oh, okay." Sakura frowned in confusion.

"Might you be confusing him with someone else? Or you probably mistook his name?"

Sakura hummed an answer. _How could she? He was her Captain! _Not to mention his endless pursuing last semester. It was fairly a well known fact that Rock Lee liked Sakura. She tried to decline his attention indirectly but he could not take a hint. she was forced to tell straight to his face that she liked someone else… namely Neji.

The couple continued their journey in silence. When they reached Sakura's home, she muttered a vague good bye before turning around. Still deep in thought about Lee, she tripped over the stony pavement.

Neji caught her around the waist in reflex, as expected from a martial artist.

Sakura gulped. She could feel her face heated up. She dared to peek a glance to Neji's eyes.

_This is where romance couples usually kiss, right?_ Her inner was having the time of her life.

Sakura swore she saw Neji leaned in, but the moment was eternally shattered when a loud bark suddenly startled them both.

Neji abruptly pulled away. The sudden loss of support made Sakura almost tripped again but she managed to maintain her balance. Both of them looked behind Neji.

A dog. A chocolate pug dog was staring up at them. Its large eyes were half lidded, looking bored. Its ears and snout are a darker shade of brown. The dog sat there like a statue, not even wagging its tail.

Sakura crouched down and offer a closed fist to its snout. The gesture was what her father had taught her to greet a foreign dog. If the dog liked you, it will sniff and licked you palm. The closed fist was to prevent the human from getting bit. "Hey there, little one, are you lost?"

"Sakura-san," Neji called and Sakura turned her attention back to her boyfriend. Meanwhile, the pug had sniffed and licked her fist in greeting.

"I need to get going," the Hyuuga prodigy continued and took several steps back.

Sakura scratched the dog behind his ears. She nodded to her boyfriend and gave him a smile, "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow at school?"

Neji nodded and made his departure.

Sakura watched his back until it disappeared around the corner.

She sighed loud and long. She turned to the dog, still scratching its ears. It seemed to like what she was doing. "Mou…," she pouted, "just when we are finally getting somewhere."

She noticed a collar around its neck with a name tag.

"Pakkun," the pinknette read the engraving, apparently it was a male. "Ne, where did you come from, little guy? I've never seen you around before."

Pakkun suddenly stiffened. He sniffed the air before pivoting under her hands and ran away.

Sakura followed his trails with her eyes and was greeted with a black canvas shoes. Pakkun barked once to the person whom the shoe belonged to.

Sakura's green eyes travelled up the person's body, obviously a male. When she looked at his face, she felt her heart skipped a beat and blushed as pink as her hair.

He was around her age, Sakura noticed. He had a spiky blue-black hair that was combed to the back, two perfectly symmetrical thick bangs framing the both side of his pale face. His eyes were charcoal black and devoid of emotion. He was wearing a white shirt, un-tucked into his indigo dress pants. Sakura did not think anyone could pull such plain clothing as good as him.

_Damn, even Neji can't compare to this hotness,_ her fan girl side drooled shamelessly.

"Anoo, good evening," she greeted politely. Just because she was hyperventilating inside (due to heat shock, mind you), that doesn't mean she would act like an idiot.

He did not reply so Sakura decided to continue, "Is he yours?" she asked, referring to Pakkun.

"No," was his icy reply.

Sakura resisted another blush. Fan girl Sakura was melting at the sound of his voice. Inner Sakura was beating herself up for reacting like a fool, _"Shannaro!! We ruled men, not the other way around!!"_

"Oh, he seemed rather familiar with you." She tried to smile to hide her nervousness. She started playing with her waist length pink hair, twisting it around between her middle and index finger.

"He belongs to my acquaintance."

_Acquaintance? Did he mean friend?_

"Oh, right." Sakura did not know why she was so nervous. She swore her heart was beating a second faster.

"You should stop," he suddenly said.

Sakura blinked and froze. _Did he mean her habit playing with hair? _

"Oh, sorry," She stopped twirling her hair and unconsciously fiddling with the hem of her skirt.

He smirked and started to walk away. The opposite direction to Neji.

"Wait!" she suddenly exclaimed.

He stopped and turned back to her. Sakura thought she saw something red flickered in his dark orbs.

"You are that new student, aren't you?"

He did not reply, only staring at her with no emotion.

Sakura felt uncomfortable. _What was wrong with this guy?_ His eyes were making her nervous. She struggled for something to say. "Umm. Did you… Have you seen Lee-San? You're with him yesterday, weren't you?"

Okay, that was completely random, but she could not think of anything else. The Rock Lee mystery was still on the back of her mind.

Unpredictably, he gave her an eerie smile and a reply. "That asian bowl cut bushy brows?"

Too relief to actually get scared of his strange smile, Sakura quickly interrogated him. "You've seen him? Where? I don't think he's at school today because he missed practice, and Gai-Sensei was acting really strange! Do you know what happened? Is he sick?"

The dark boy held up a hand to stop her rambling and Sakura blushed in embarrassment. How could she ramble off like that? She must have looked like an idiot.

He gave her an amused look. "He's a bit too sweet for my liking," he replied before walking away.

Sakura blinked. "Eh? So you've seen him? When-"

He looked over his shoulder. "Go home, Sakura."

It was not a statement. It was a command. It was clear in his eyes and Sakura instantly knew that the conversation was over.

She watched him disappear around the corner, much like Neji did a few moments ago.

That was when she suddenly realized something.

…

_How did he know her name? _

* * *

_Konoha Academy for the Gifted, Homeroom, the next day_

Sakura leaned her forehead against her crossed arms on the desk. She looked sleepily outside the window. She was really drained. Gai-Sensei was truly a slave driver. Ten laps and ten sprints every morning was a bit too much for Sakura's liking, she barely could move a muscle when she woke up that morning.

Her mind flashed back towards her conversation with TenTen earlier that morning. They had been changing after practice. Apparently TenTen was still mad at Lee. Also, Gai-Sensei was still in denial. Had Lee really quit the team? Was he sick? Practice had been considerably duller without the usual drama between the Captain and the Coach. So far no one seemed to know what had happened to Lee, they did not seemed to know him either. Was it some kind of a prank? If it was so, then Sakura was going to be really mad. The prank had really gone too far.

"Stand up!"A bored and slurring voice of Nara Shikamaru suddenly woke her from her daydreaming.

Sakura quickly stood up, still not fully recovered yet.

"Bow!" Shikamaru instructed. He was the Class's President, not because he was the most diplomatic of them all. It was usual in Japan that the Class President was someone who had the highest academic scores. Shikamaru was the best in their whole year, heck he might have been the best in the entire country. If only he was not so lazy.

Sakura bowed along the rest of the class. "Good morning, Iruka-Sensei!" they shouted together.

Apparently her home room teacher, Iruka-Sensei, had come in while she had been thinking.

After the rest of the students had settled back into their chair, Iruka-Sensei began to take attendance. Sakura was almost back into her daydream if the sensei did not say, "We have a new student to be joining our class today!"

Sakura's green eyes snapped to the classroom door when it slid open. It was of course, the boy from yesterday. Instanly almost all the female students giggled and started whispering to each other. Well, at least Sakura was not alone in the doki-doki world.

His eyes immediately settled on her. The pinknette could not contain the blush any longer. Was her pink hair really that strikingly weird? She should have dyed it black, or red, but her mother was against it since colored hair needs more attention to be kept healthy. Sakura agreed half-heartedly, partly because she did not like pampering her beauty too much.

"You may introduce yourself," said Iruka-Sensei.

Without even a blink, the boy spoke with a deadpanned tone, "Uchiha Sasuke."

Silence.

Everyone might have expected him to say more. The girls were practically hanging to the edge of their seat, determined to catch every word. Sakura did not blame them, he was rather enigmatic. Must be his eyes… no, definitely his eyes.

It must have been a while before everyone noticed that his name was going to be the only thing he said. Iruka-Sensei gave a nervous cough, "Well, tell us a bit about yourself, Uchiha-san. Your likes, your dislikes, hobbies, dreams?" the sensei offered in suggestion.

He frowned. To Sakura, he looked a little annoyed.

"I'm … seventeen years old," he began stiffly. "I like only a few things. I dislike most things. I don't have a dream…," he trailed off and did not continue.

Silence again. The classroom felt like it had gone down a couple of degrees. Sakura stared at the dark boy dryly. Apparently his voice were not the only thing that was cold.

Iruka-Sensei excused him, not wanting to pursue the Uchiha further. "Alright then, you can sit…"

Uchiha Sasuke ignored the older man and made his way towards the end of the classroom. He took a seat behind Sakura. It was strange; Sakura did not remember having an empty desk behind her.

Sensei sighed long and loud. "Oh. I guess you can sit anywhere you want, then."

Iruka-Sensei was a very experienced teacher. He had never lets his student's behavior affect his teaching. He had quickly forgotten Uchiha's unfriendliness and turned to the board and started his lesson.

Sakura twisted in her seat, wanting to talk to the Uchiha. As predicted, he was looking at her. "Uchiha-san, it's nice to see you again," she offered a warm smile.

He only stared at her expressionlessly. Half of his face was hidden behind his propped hands on the desk.

Seeing that he did not have the interest to start a conversation, Sakura frowned at him and turned back her attention to the teacher.

_What a strange boy._

Sakura could feel the boy's stare for the rest of the morning class.

She wanted to talk to him. She wanted to ask him about Lee. She wanted to know how he had known her name the day before. However, she could not bring herself to talk to him. She was uncomfortable around him, like something in her was trying to take a leap.

* * *

_Konoha Academy for the Gifted, the InoHinaSaku Lunch Club_

Ino was, in the very meaning of the word, elated: very happy and in high spirit. "Sakura, you're SO lucky!" she exclaimed, pointing her blue chopsticks towards her pink haired friend. "I wish he was in MY class!"

Sakura sweat dropped, "It's not that fantastic. Really, Ino." She studied the contents of Hinata's bento box and quickly chose a small piece of fried shrimp. Hinata's Special Rice Bran Mini Tempura, yummy.

If this was how Ino was acting, Sakura did not want to know how the blonde will react once she learned that Uchiha Sasuke chose a sit behind Sakura.

"What was he like, Sakura-chan?" asked Hinata while drinking a cup of hot ocha. If Hinata was interested, then the whole school must have been greatly curious.

_Seriously_, Sakura thought. She did not understand why Uchiha Sasuke had suddenly become a celebrity. Sure, he was handsome, but did they not feel his unfriendliness?

"He is rather… cold," the pinknette answered. _And mysterious, and guarded, and unpredictable!_

"Did you talk to him?" asked Ino, her aqua eyes shines brightly.

"Not really. He was being really quiet, and most of his answers are direct." Sakura saw how Ino hanged to her every word. The pinknette sighed, "Basically he was Mr. Enigmatic and Anti-Social in one package, Ino. He did not show any respect towards the teacher. He ignores everyone around him. I think he just want to be left alone."

_I wonder what made him acts that way_, Sakura said silently to her inner.

Ino sighed. "You only said that because you're immune to his hotness."

Sakura thought that was quite untrue. She could still remember how her heart beat faster whenever he was around.

The Gossip Queen stuffed another octopus sausage into her mouth, chewed a few times, before swallowing. "Well, you ARE going out with the- OUCH! Forehead-girl, what did you do that for!"

Sakura had thrown Ino her lunch-box cap. "Continue that, Ino-pig, and I'll slaughter you!"

_Ino and her running mouth!_

Ino narrowed her eyes, "Hey! It's not that anyone else is here to hear your little love drama! Why kept it a secret anyway?!"

Sakura was about to retort when she saw something black across the field.

"Ne, is that him, Sakura-chan?" asked Hinata, pointing with her white chopsticks.

Sakura turned and indeed she found Uchiha Sasuke walking with… TenTen-san?

"Woa, did you see that, Ino?" Sakura's eyes were still locked to the two figure walking slowly back to the school building.

Ino did not reply and Sakura turned towards the spot where Ino should have been.

Ino was gone. The Gossip Queen was on the move.

"Dammit, Ino!" Sakura quickly stood up. Knowing Ino, she was probably high-tailing the Uchiha. That girl was going to get into trouble sometimes. Sakura was trying to 'cure' Ino's over-curiosity but her best friend had it really bad.

"Sorry, Hinata-chan! Do you mind cleaning up by yourself for a while? I'm going afer Ino!"

The Hyuuga girl nodded, looking unfazed at all. That situation had happened quite a few times and Hinata was barely surprised anymore. "Not at all, Sakura-chan."

Sakura shouldered her lunch bag, apologized to Hinata once more, and dashed towards the school building.

* * *

_Konoha Academy for the Gifted, After Class_

Turned out that Sakura could not find either Uchiha, TenTen, or Ino in the remaining time of Lunch Break. She returned to Hinata with a defeaded sighed and helped the girl cleaned up their picnic mess.

TenTen did not come to Track Practice. Gai-Sensei was still acting strange (stranger than usual) so Sakura did not ask him about Lee or TenTen. Sakura promised herself to look again after class.

First she visited Neji in his Karate Club and told him that she could not walk home with him. He nodded and apologized that he could not accompany her because he had to teach Karate at the local dojo. That was one of Hyuuga Neji's good quality, in Sakura opinion. He was very straight forward and honest. You always knew where you stand when you were with him.

After that, Sakura decided that TenTen's classroom was a good way to start. The possibility of TenTen being there was narrow since she was not in practice earlier that day, but Sakura reckon she could ask her classmates. Hopefully some would still be there since many club held daily practice.

Her hope was crushed as she saw the classroom was completely deserted. Sakura sighed long and loud.

"What are you doing?"

Startled beyond belief, Sakura pivoted on her heels but loose her balance and fell down to the tiled floor on her butt. She looked up and saw Uchiha Sasuke peering down at her.

"Ah, Uchiha-san!" her heart gave a familiar leap.

The setting sun looked extremely good on his complexion. The orange tint gave him a more enigmatic look, and his charcoal eyes seemed to glint.

He offered a hand to help her up. Sakura accepted the offer, her fan girl side was melting into a puddle and her inner self could not agree more.

"Arigato, Uchiha-san," she offered him a smile which he did not return.

They were silent for a few moments before Sakura remembered that she was looking for TenTen and Ino. "Ne, Uchiha-san, did you see Ino and Tenten-san?"

He frowned, "Is it the blonde female with ponytail?"

Sakura thought he had a very strange way to describe someone, but brightened anyway by the news. "That's Ino! And TenTen-san was the girl with buns that walked with you during lunch. Do you know where they are?"

He was silent, eyes turned even darker. There was that glint of red again. Sakura asked herself why she kept imagining things.

Sakura tiled her head, confused. "Uchiha-san?"

"They're gone."

The pinknette blinked. "Eh? You mean they'd head home?"

"I've gotten rid of them," he replied with a deadpanned tone.

"What do you mean?"

"They're a nuisance."

Sakura frowned at him. She did not like it when someone insulted her friends. "Look, here, mister! I know Ino can be such a pig sometimes, but she actually has a good heart. And TenTen-san is my sempai in the track-team! I respected her!"

In her annoyance, she poked Uchiha's chest several times with her index fingers.

It was a mistake.

Sakura suddenly found herself shoved to the wall beside the door. All her breath escaped her lung and she gasped in surprise.

He was not looking at her. His eyes were hidden beneath his bangs. "Shit, you need to stop, Sakura," he gritted with intense emotions. Was it anger? Pity? Lust?

The way he said her name, she never knew that her name could sound so… suggestive.

"U-uchiha-san.. you're too close…."

"Sakura." He growled hoarsely against her ear.

Sakura squirmed slightly under his body. She pushed his chest with as much strength she could managed, but he would not budge. He was frighteningly strong. His body was warm. Sakura could feel his breath on her neck. She could not breathe.

"U-uchiha-san," she pleaded for him to get off her. Her head was dizzy. This was the first time she was this close to him, to any male. Not even Neji had been this close to her. Sakura realized why he was a male. Although he was just a head taller than she was, his shoulders are twice as wide and his hands were lined with lean muscle.

This boy was dangerous. Her inner was screaming to kick him where it hurts the most, but before she could move he had pushed a knee between her legs, practically trapping her.

"Please…" Sakura pushed against his chest once more. "Don't…" She was scared, frightened. What will he do to her?

He loosened his hold on her. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Sakura did not know if she should believe him or not. He was still crowding her, and her head was still dizzy, pounding. Why did he have this effect on her?

"Let go." She plead, her voice shook in fear. Hoarse, like she had been screaming all night.

He panted against her neck. "I missed your voice," he said painfully. He was breathing raggedly, his skin was awfully warm. He was scorching and sweating.

Was he in pain? Was he hurt? Was he sick? Her maternal instinct took over. "Uchiha-san? Are- are you ill?" her voice was still shaking. Her hands slipped from his chest to his neck, feeling his temperature.

He stiffed and suddenly pressed his body to hers, his right knee pushed between her thighs and rubbed slightly against her panties.

Sakura could not belief the heat that was spreading through her like liquid fire. "Aah," she gasped a moan. Her mind was screaming a no, but she could not help the throbbing pleasure that she had just felt.

"Say my name," he growled hotly against her ears, teeth grazing her lobe.

She turned her face away from him as much as possible. "Please, get off me, Uchiha-san…"

"Say my name," he repeated with a commanding voice. Oh God, she could feel it throbbing, the place hidden under her panties.

She shook her head in denial, "No… please," Sakura stiffened.

Sasuke groaned. He pressed his mouth closer to her neck. "Sakura," he said hoarsely.

"Stop!" she panted breathlessly, she struggled with a newfound strength. "Uchiha-san, please get off me!"

"Say my name," he repeated for the third time, frustration was edging on his voice.

Sakura was desperate, "Uchiha-san! Uchiha-san! Uchiha-san!"

He chuckled. "You've got it wrong, Sakura." One hand was still locking both of her wrists on the top of her head. Those were going to bruise.

"Uchiha—"

His knee rose to her crotch and rubbed roughly back and forth. Sakura bit back a scream. The throbbing pleasure was back. Her nipples felt raw against her bra. It was overwhelming. His heat was overwhelming. Her knees were shaking. "Please, let go." She chanted fearfully. "Please, please—"

His head lifted away from her neck. He looked at her with molten charcoal eyes. His lips were few centimeters apart from hers. "Remember, Sakura. Remember my name," he asked in a low whisper.

Sakura was panting. She could feel her heart racing. "I… I don't understand."

She really was confused. What did he want her to call him? Uchiha-sama? Sasuke-san?

He leaned closer, lips just a breath away from hers. "I'll make you remember." He released her wrists and the hand slid around her neck, trailed up her nape and titled her head up. "Sakura," he whispered painfully before crashing his mouth on hers.

Sakura's eyes widened, she gasped in surprise which was a grave mistake. Something rough and wet slithered inside her mouth and Sakura realized that it was his tongue. She groaned, helpless beneath his body and under the pleasure. Her hands shot up to his biceps, gripping tightly onto his uniform shirt. Sasuke tilted his head and slanted his mouth over hers. His tongue explored the roof of her mouth before coaxing hers in to tangle against his.

Sakura felt dizzy. She could not breathe. Her hands were clenching and unclenching his biceps. Pleased, Sasuke retraced his tongue and start biting her lower lips until it was swollen and red. Sakura moaned helplessly in return. "Sasu-"

He smirked and sucked on her damp lips. He dragged his other hand upon her thigh and forced it to warp against his hip. Sakura felt something massive rubbing against her between her legs. She gasped, "Sasuke!"

Pleased, he took the chance to shove his tongue deeper into her mouth. One of her hand flew to his hair and pulled. He growled into her mouth, the vibration sending thrills down her spine. She moaned again. With enormous difficulty, she wrenched her mouth away from his. "Sasuke-," she gasped breathlessly.

He pressed Sakura against the wall, his mouth nipping her soft chin. He murmured something incoherent. His kisses trailed to her ear and he whispered hoarsely, "Almost there, Sakura."

She was breathing hard. Her eyes were open but she could not understand any image they captured. Everything was blurry. She could not think. Her hands rested powerlessly againts his chest. "Sasuke-kun," she whispered, almost inaudibly.

"Aa." His breath hot against her ears, but he was not touching her. She realized that he had released her completely from his clutches. However she just did not have the strength other than leaning against the wall and panting softly on his ear.

His name echoed in her mind. Sasuke-kun. Sasuke-kun. Sasuke-kun.

It sounded familiar… warm and cozy. Like a new found breath.

Sasuke blinked a couple of times. "Did… I hurt you?" his voice was back to the deadpanned tone, but to Sakura it seemed softer after the hoarse whispers and groans.

Sakura closed her eyes and shook her head. She did not want to think about what had just happened. She just wanted to forget it and go home.

He pulled away and took her hands, eyeing her wrists. "You're bruised."

Yes, her wrists were painful. Her lips were throbbing. They might turn purple in the morning. Sakura pushed his chest gently, a silent request to get him off her.

He complied and took a step back from her.

"Sakura," he began.

She cut him off, "Please stay away from me."

He moved to grab her arm but she maneuvered her body under his arms and was by the door in a second.

She ran and did not turn back.

* * *

_Haruno Residence, Midnight_

As predicted, Sakura could not sleep a blink. How could you after receiving probably the hottest kiss you'd ever received? Uchiha Sasuke was not an amateur, and to Sakura's amazement she was not either. She had never been kissed before, that much she was certain. However she had somehow knew that groaning against Sasuke's mouth would fuel his passion and pulling his hair might snap him out of his aggressiveness.

Sakura groaned and buried her face further into her pillows.

She did not understand. What was wrong with Uchiha Sasuke? What was she suppose to remember?

She was Haruno Sakura, the only child of Haruno Kenji and Haruno Hana. She was seventeen years old and had a life-long crush to her sempai, Hyuuga Neji (now her boyfriend for a month). Hell… she could even trace her diary entry all the way back to her elementary years. And most certainly, she had never known any Uchiha Sasuke.

But when he kissed her….

Sakura blushed and her heart beat a second faster.

When Uchiha Sasuke kissed her, Sakura felt some kind of fulfillment. It was strange. She did not realize she had been empty until she felt whole.

She released a frustrated scream into her pillow.

_What do you want from me… Sasuke-kun?_

* * *

_Neither Lee-san, Tenten-san, nor Ino-chan was in school the next day,_

_They did not come to school the day after,_

_and not the day after that._

_They never came back._

_And then I realized, this was only the beginning. _

* * *

**to be continued? **

* * *

A/N: Please excuse the grammar and spelling errors, I have fixed it as much as I am able. It has been a long time since I have written in English. Sakura will start remembering stuff in the next chapter, the exciting stuff will start from there. If you like this, please leave a comment. If you don't like it, please spare me from the flames. Constructive critics are always welcomed. Thanks! 


	2. Into the Shadows

Disclaimer: Naruto was copyrighted to Masashi Kishimoto. I'm just borrowing characters.

Warning: Graphic lemon. Skip if you don't like it.

Note: **EmoNinjaSara** pointed out that Pakkun is a pug, not a bull dog. Thank you for your correction! Chapter 1 had been edited and reposted.

* * *

_Cherry blossoms... _

_Cherry blossom petals littered the ground,_

_tainted with crimson life._

_Would thy soul passed away in sound?_

_Or would thou be bound in perpetual strife?_

* * *

**Dusk**

**Chapter 2: Into the Shadows**

* * *

_ "Sakura…"_

_Her name had always sounded the same coming from him: raw, brief, and somewhat entrancing._

_"Don't trust the humans, Sakura."_

_She was shaking slightly under his intense anger. His eyes were livid red, three commas spinning angrily._

_"They are traitorous hypocrites…. deceitful, promise-breakers."_

_His hand cupped her face, the thumb smearing blood on her pale cheek._

_"They fight and hurt each others; they say they only want to be happy… but in truth they are just destroying themselves."_

_He pulled the ribbons around her waist. The silky white dress dropped limply around her feet._

_ "Don't pity them."_

_His voice drawled roughly against her collarbone, the vibrations sending thrills down her body. She arched forward, silently asking for more._

_ "We are not one of them. We don't need to be one of them."_

_Her mouth sought his and they kissed with drunken passion._

_"Forget… forget all about that life."_

_She tossed head, screaming with surprise and pleasure… it was too much. The feel of him inside her was too much._

_ "We have each other, Sakura."_

_Their movements grew fervent. He thrust harder, deeper._

_ "… everything else can just disappear."_

_SASUKE-KUN!!!_

* * *

_Haruno Residence, Sakura's Room, Morning _

Sakura woke up with a start. She was panting feverishly, heart pounding erratically. Her hands were still numb under the intense sleep. Sweat covered her forehead, rolling down the side of her face. She looked at the ceiling dazedly, still not fully recovered from the intense dream.

_A dream… but it was too real, too solid to be just a figment of imagination._ She wiped her damp forehead absently.

She could still feel his kiss on her neck, on her lips, on her closed lids. She could still feel the burn of his hands on her breast, pulling her hips, caressing her skin. Her thighs squirmed tightly at the dull throb between her legs.

She shook her head to snap out of it. It was then she realized that her alarm clock had been ringing… possibly for quite some time. The pinknette swung her legs over the edge of her bed and sat up. She reached for her side table and turned the alarm clock off.

Her panting slowed until she was finally breathing normally. She stared on the curtained window where sunlight was peaking trough. It was already morning. She should take a shower and go to the morning practice.

Her mind set, Sakura approached the window and pulled the curtains aside. Sunlight poured into the room, she sighed in contentment. And then she blinked in confusion.

_Wait… why was there an empty lot beside her house?_

Sakura decided to ask her mother, she might know something about that. The pinknette drew a long breath of morning air before getting ready for school.

* * *

_Konoha Academy for the Gifted, the Locker Room_

Sakura entered the locker room with a frown. Tenten had not come to the morning practice. Where could the girl be? Although the question irked her conscious, she could not help but think about her mother's odd behavior instead.

When Sakura had asked where the Kishimotos had gone along with the rest of their house, her mother had laughed out loud. Her father had not been any better since he decided to hide his face behind the newspaper, but judging from his occasional snort and shudders he had been struggling not to laugh. And then her mother asked her if she would consider being a comedian as her future career, clearly an attempt to balance her 'joke'.

The Kishimotos could not have had a fight with her parents and they were trying to ignore each others. Houses just did not disappear overnight! The pinknette did not know why she kept noticing these disappearances when nobody else did. Sure, some people could see ghosts. Some people could have visions about the future. But noticing disappearance? That was unheard of.

Sakura banged her head to her locker in frustration. "What the hell is going on..?" she muttered in defeat.

"You do realize that you're talking by yourself, don't you?" and amused voice said from behind the pinknette.

Startled beyond belief, Sakura pivoted on her heels and came face to face with Uchiha Sasuke. She took a step back in reflex but the locker was in her way. Eyes wide, she could not help but stammered, "Wh-what… Uchiha-san!"

"Sakura," he frowned in annoyance.

The girl quickly recovered and gave the boy her own version of icy glare, "What do you want?" She was annoyed and flushed at the same time. She could still remember their last encounter… and the dream was still vaguely on her mind.

He took a step forward and placed his forearm on the locker door, entrapping the pink haired girl. "What? I can't talk to you now?"

Sakura realized that everybody was probably looking for them. Damn, how could she live up with the embarrassment? She tried to put up a brave façade. "I told you to stay away, Uchiha-san," her voice was edged with fear; she hoped he did not notice.

He leaned to her ears and whispered lowly, "You've got my name wrong again, Sa-ku-ra." He spilled the syllable sensually; Inner Sakura was melting into a puddle of molten lava.

Sakura pushed his chest with all her might, "Stay away from me!"

He pulled away with an offended frown. Red flickered in his eyes. "Do you hate me?"

Sakura glared at him with as much hatred she could muster… which was not much. But he frustrated her, so she gathered that emotion and gave him piercing look.

He bought it. "You hate me," he muttered under his breath. He looked at her with something behind his eyes that scream abandonment.

Something tugged painfully inside her chest. "Sasu…."

"Sakura-san?"

Sakura's head snapped to the right and there she saw Hyuuga Neji. The karate captain was still in his practice uniform and frown was adorning his handsome face.

Sakura gulped, "Ne-Neji-san…" She did not know what to do. Inner Sakura was screaming mayday, but her fan girl side was squealing ecstatically at the two hot guys that were possibly about to fight over her. Outer Sakura was just standing stiffly like a statue with wide eyes.

The Hyuuga looked at Sasuke. "Is he bothering you, Sakura-san?"

The pinknette instantly shook her head, "What? No! I mean…." Sakura gave Sasuke a nervous glance. The Uchiha looked furious. The tension could be cut with a knife; the boys were ready to lunge at each other.

"We were just talking about a chemistry project!" Sakura suddenly spluttered out.

The two boys looked at her in disbelief.

Sakura gave a nervous laugh. "Right… Sasuke-kun?" she hoped that using his name would convince the boy to play along.

The Uchiha looked torn. She gave him her most pleading look.

Sasuke clenched his eyes and gave a frustrated hiss before walking away. Sakura watched his back disappeared around the corner. That familiar twinge in her chest was back. Neji approached her with a frown. "Are you okay?" the Hyuuga asked with a small hint of worry.

Sakura forced a smile, "Of course I am, Neji-san! Why wouldn't I be?"

His frown deepened but he did not press further for answers. "Alright, I'll walk you to class."

Sakura nodded and the both of them started walking towards her homeroom on the east side of the academy. They walked in awkward silence. Sakura struggled for something to say but could not find any worthy topics. In the end, the journey ended with neither of them saying anything.

Sakura gave her boyfriend another strained smile, "Thanks for walking with me, Neji-san. I'll see you after class?"

Neji nodded. "Sakura…," he began.

"Yes?"

"You're friendly with him," the Hyuuga prodigy stated as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Eh?" the pinknette titled her head to the side in confusion.

"The Uchiha. You're friendly with him."

_Friendly?_ Sakura prevent a blush as an x-rated image filtered into her mind. "R-really?"

The Hyuuga looked at her studiously before raising a hand to hold her forearm gently, brushing his thumb against her skin. "Just be careful, Sakura."

Sakura blushed at the contact. Neji had never initiated contact before, it was usually her doing. "I- I will," she replied, cheeks heating slightly.

Neji released her and nod once before leaving.

Sakura stood there, frozen to the spot. He face felt pretty warm.

_Was that jealousy she saw in the karate captain's eyes?_ Inner Sakura and her fan girl side was jumping and squealing around with joy.

The pinknette skipped cheerfully to her desk, completely forgetting the person that was sitting behind her. She hummed a merry tune, reaching inside her bag for her books. They had Math for the first period.

"You let him touched you," the deadpanned voice of Uchiha Sasuke startled her from behind the second time that day.

Sakura stiffed and did not dare to turn back, afraid for a repeat of their earlier encounter. She could feel him brushed his hand on her pink tresses. His touch was electric. It travelled down from the tips of her hair to her toe. "Sa.. Sasuke-kun."

"Why, Sakura?"

The pinknette could feel her heart racing. "He.. He's my boyfriend," her voice was tiny, fear overcoming her heart. _Why? Why was she so afraid of him?_

He gave no reply and she could feel the temperature dropped down a few degrees. "I see," said Sasuke, his hand left her hair. "Do you love him?" his voice was quiet, a silent threat.

Sakura clenched her fist on her desk. "I…" She twisted in her seat… but he was nowhere to be found. Her eyes widened. The seat behind her was empty.

_What?_

Sakura swore he had been there a second ago.

_Had she been imagining the whole thing?_

* * *

_Konoha Academy for the Gifted, Lunchtime_

Hinata was alone when Sakura arrived on their usual spot. The Hyuuga girl was standing under the Cherry Blossom tree while staring dazedly to the sky. Sakura waved her hand in front of the unblinking lavender eyes, "Hinata-chan? You alright?"

Hinata blinked and her eyes focused. "Ah, Sakura-chan! I-I'm fine!"

Sakura tilted her head, "You sure? You're a bit flushed… do you have a fever?"

The Hyuuga girl shook her head vigorously.

Sakura was not convinced, a big question mark was literally hanging on the top of her head. "Did something happen? Did someone bother you?"

Hinata shook her head again , "No, no.. It's nothing…" Together, the two girls started to set their picnic spot. Sakura unfolded the picnic mat before kneeling onto it.

"Ino is late," Sakura commented as she watched Hinata pour the green tea and received hers with a 'thank you'.

"Ino?" Hinata opened her lunch box and eyed its content.

Sakura poked her chopsticks into her rice, "Yes, she's usually the first one here. I wonder if something happened."

Hinata stopped her movement and eyed her pink-haired friend quizzically. "Who is that, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura stared back. "Haha, Hinata-chan please, not you too!" she laughed humorlessly. "Did you guys have a fight or something?"

Hinata was silent, deep in thought.

Sakura paced both her hands on her hips. "What's with everyone here with ignoring someone they had a fight with?" she asked in annoyance with a frown on her face.

"Sakura-chan," Hinata started uncomfortably. "I'm sorry, I really don't know who Ino is."

"Hinata…. It's not funny." Sakura muttered with a pleading tone.

They stared at each other with awkward silence. Sakura had officially lost her appetite; she pushed her lunchbox away from herself. "I… I don't understand."

Hinata averted her eyes. "Sakura-chan…. I'm not lying."

"Hinata, I-I don't… I think…," Sakura stammered, overwhelmed with confusion. "Hinata, I'm not lying either."

Hinata nods, "I know... I don't think you're the type to lie about those sorts of things, Sakura-chan."

They went silent again. Hinata was not the type to play such joke either, she was very honest by nature. But that did not make sense. Hinata of all people, should not forget about Ino.

"Do you think I have amnesia?" asked Hinata.

Sakura stared at her. "No, I don't think so. It's not you. It's me. I think it's me…."

"Sakura-chan…"

"This happened before. Everyone had suddenly forgotten about Lee-san, it's like I'm the only one who ever know him."

_TenTen…. Did TenTen disappear, too?_

"Saku-"

Sakura looked at her friend with piercing emerald, "Hinata-chan, do you think I'm crazy?"

Hinata averted her gaze, not used to be the target of such intense gaze. "I don't know, but…. What if it's the other way around?"

"You believe me?" asked Sakura incredulously. She did not expect anyone would believe her. She half thought she was going crazy herself.

The Hyuuga girl nods, "I think it's probable, Sakura-chan. There's so much disappearance case in the world, don't you think it's strange?"

"This is not a science fiction, Hinata."

"That was what they said about cloning humans. But we now know that that's just one step ahead."

"But…"

Hinata nods. "I think I have read about something like this, but I don't remember when and where."

"In your Family's documents?" asked Sakura. The Hyuugas were famous for their research in history. Hinata had confessed that their family had documents from before calendar was invented and as old as the first written literature. They had been doing it for centuries, possibly even before the clan was created.

"Most probably from those documents," Hinata nods. "Do you want me to look into them?"

Sakura felt relief. Having someone so blindly trusting her story felt really good. She hugged her friend tightly, "Thank you! Thank you, Hinata!"

The shy girl blushed. "Sakura-chan… what was she like?"

"Ino?" Sakura sobered and pulled back. She wiped the tears that were brimming on her eyelashes and looked down sadly "Ino is really cheerful, sometimes too curious for her own good. The three of us are really good friends."

"Did I call her Ino-chan?"

Sakura nods, not trusting herself to speak. Her heart tightened and her eyes glassy.

They went silent again, both of their minds filled with thoughts. Hinata's lavender eyes had a solemn look in them, as if she was remembering something from a distant past. "Sakura-chan, do you believe there are some things in this world better left unknown?"

"Like what?"

"Like... do you ever wish that somebody had never discovered an atomic bomb?"

Sakura thought about that for a second. "Do you think I have discovered one of those things?"

"Maybe," Hinata nods. "But what if… Someone saw something that was not supposed to be seen?"

Sakura's eyes widened.

"What if Ino-chan has seen something she was not supposed to see, and then somebody…," Hinata trailed off, denying the horrible possibilities.

Millions of thought wheeled into Sakura's mind that instant. Sasuke had been walking with a TenTen. Ino had been following their trails. Sasuke had been seen with Rock Lee. Sasuke's unstable behavior… his mysterious appearance and disappearance.

Sasuke had been with all of them before they disappeared.

"No….," the pinknette whispered fearfully. It was not possible, she was being paranoid. Nobody could make somebody disappear like that. It was just cannot be done.

* * *

_Konoha Academy for the Gifted, 4th period, Physical Education_

That day was incredibly sunny, a very terrible day for doing something outdoor. The students of Class 2A were moaning and cursing Gai-Sensei for being so damn full of life when all they want were to huddle closer under the air conditioner in their classroom. They were playing baseball that day, and that meant no shelter. All of them were practically fried. Crispy fried.

Sakura shared the same thoughts with her classmates, but there was something else more frustrating keeping her attention. Twice had she spaced out when somebody hit the ball and her team captain was giving her annoyed glare. Actually, Sakura could really care less.

The pinknette had finally made up her mind to swallow her fears and talk to Sasuke. She had told herself over and over that she would not flatter this time. There was only one problem. Sasuke had not come back to class ever since their encounter earlier in the morning.

"Haruno Sakura-san!" somebody screamed angrily.

Sakura blinked and looked at the source of the voice, finding her sheeting team captain, Tsuchi Kin. Her long black hair was pulled up in a tousled ponytail. Her black orbs were flaming with death promises.

_Whoops, busted_. Inner Sakura scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

Kin walked towards the pinknette with both hands on her hips. "If you did not wish to play, Haruno-san, I suggest you get off my team!"

Sakura gave an apologetic laugh, "Gomen, Tsuchi-san."

The black haired girl pointed towards the stony benches on the side of the field and Sakura happily obeyed her dismissal. The pinknette walked across the field and sat under a shady tree, away from the raging sun and the zooming baseball balls. She closed her eyes, enjoying the coolness and peace.

She felt somebody sat beside her and cracked an eye open. There sat a man, he looked like he was in his mid twenties. He had an odd silver hair, with an eye patch covering his left eye. He could be considered handsome, but Sakura thought that he was too odd for her liking. She gave him a questioning look which he replied with a harmless smile.

"You seemed woozy out there, are you ill?" he asked amiably. His tone was not dripping with over-friendliness, with just a little hint of curiosity.

Sakura blushed a bit that somebody had seen her made a fool of herself. "Something was on my mind," she defended in embarrassment.

"Ah, it's understandable," he replied, again with a smile.

Sakura nodded and felt something nudging her feet. She found a chocolate brown pug nuzzling her shoe. "Pakkun??"

The man whistled and Pakkun looked up at him, barking unexcitedly.

Sakura giggled at the dog's antics. She had never seen a dog looked so bored. "He's yours?"

The man nodded. "Sorry if he had bothered you a couple of days ago."

Sakura gave him a bizarre look, "How do you know?"

"Pakkun told me," the man gestured to the pug.

"You understand dogs?"

Her companion gave another harmless smile; it seemed to be his habit. "Something like that."

"That's so cool!" the pinknette exclaimed.

They sat there together. The man watched the students playing baseball, but Sakura was studying her companion curiously. Awhile later, the man turned to her, "My name is Kakashi. Hatake Kakashi. I am new in the neighborhood."

Sakura gave him a friendly smile, "How did you manage to get into this school? You're clearly not a student or a teacher." Konoha Academy was very strict in their visitor regulations. No one can enter the school except the parents or if they had official matters.

"I have my ways," Kakashi replied secretively.

Sakura opened her mouth to ask about it when Gai-Sensei blew his whistle and shouted for the students to gather. She stood up and dusted the back of her PE uniform and stretched her arms up, "Well, I have to go, it's nice meeting you Kakashi-san."

Kakashi also stood up. "You too, Sakura."

Damn, Kin must have shouted her name really loud. With a red tint on her pale cheeks, Sakura turned away. She had started walking away before Kakashi stopped her:

"If you are looking for Sasuke, he's at the rooftop."

Sakura halted and look back to where he was with wide eyes. "How do you…?"

Kakashi gave her one last harmless smile before walking away with Pakkun on his heels. Sakura could only stare at his back. Hatake Kakashi really was a strange man.

* * *

_Konoha Academy for the Gifted, After School, Rooftop._

The rooftop was supposed to be off limits, but it was true that rules were meant to be broken. The rooftop was 'off limits' only for those who did not wish to have a heated make-out session.

Because it was practically overseen by the teachers (because it was 'off limits'), the students took liberty changing the deserted stairway to the rooftop into a general PDA spot. Yes, the stairways, because the actual rooftop was always too dirty, too wet with rain during the springs, too scorching during the summers, too breezy during autumns, and too cold during the winters. The stairway, on the other hand, was just perfect. It gave a sense of seclusion, since it was slightly dark, had a lot of place to sit, and away forms the teachers' eyes.

Sakura personally avoided to go anywhere near the rooftop, she found that the place horrific in a different kind of way. That was why she had no idea why Sasuke would want to be there in the first place. The only explanation was that he had brought 'somebody' to be his make out buddy.

A vein popped onto Sakura's temple. The idea of Sasuke snogging some random girl on the rooftop had somehow made her incredibly annoyed. _Those poor girls,_ her Inner was hissing in feminism wrath. However, her fan girl side was sheeting in jealousy.

Fortunately, the stairs were strangely clear from any libidinous couples. Probably the rumors are a bit exaggerating. Sakura climbed the stairs with heavy footsteps, unconfident that she was ready.

As she got closer to the rooftop, she could hear snippets of conversation coming from behind the closed door. However, she was still too far to catch the whole conversation. Sakura frowned. There was two male voice, both were familiar. The two of them was clearly having an argument. Sakura hastened her pace.

"… do? … right …jealous … -ra is mine!"

"… innocent! … his Sakura!"

_Were they talking about me?_ She was closer now and could hear the arguments a bit clearer. One voice was certainly Sasuke, but Sakura had never seen him angry enough to anyone to the point of shouting.

"… confusing …. needs to remember. She have too," said Sasuke.

"Temme…," the other male replied wearily.

"Don't say you don't agree with me. I know you missed her."

"We're still not sure if it's really her!"

Just as Sakura was pressing her ears to the door, the two males had suddenly stopped their conversation. There was a long pause, nobody spoke anymore. Sakura frowned and open the door. Her eyes squinted in the bright sun; she blinked a couple of times to adjust her vision.

The rooftop was empty. There was nothing but dirty tiles and blue sky. There was no Sasuke.

_Whaaaattt???_ Inner Sakura was shouting in bewilderment.

The pinknette blinked again a couple of times just to make sure she was not imagining things. Sakura swore she had heard the arguments.

"What are you doing here?" a deadpanned voice cut her thoughts from behind.

Startled, Sakura quickly tripped forward but quickly recovered and spin on her heels. "Sa-Sasuke-kun!"

His dull charcoal eyes looked at her glumly. "It's rude to eavesdrop, Sakura."

Sakura blushed, "No! I was just," she began in reflex but quickly realize that something was wrong. Her eyes looked back and forth between the deserted rooftop and Sasuke.

_It can't be!_

She took several steps backwards, putting some distance between them. "You.. but how can you…?" she stammered in confusion. _How could he disappear from the rooftop and suddenly appear behind her?_

Sasuke stayed silent, looking at her with unreadable expression.

"What are you?" the question slipped between her lips, unrestrained. She whispered it as it if was the cardinal sin.

He took a step forward and she reacted by taking a step backwards. He frowned at her fear.

"Sakura-," he began.

"What did you do to Ino?" asked Sakura suddenly.

He stiffened. His expression went blank in a second.

Sakura's mind was reeling. She did not actually know what she was saying. "What did you do to her? To TenTen-san and to Lee-san?"

There was a brief silence, thickened with anxiety, before he finally spoke. "Do you want to know?"

Sakura's eyes widened. She did not expect him to easily confess. She had thought that she would need to talk him into it. Some persuasion, maybe some arguments… but he had proved her wrong.

"Do you want to know?" Sasuke repeated with more intensity. He took another step forward.

Sakura could only stare at him with widened eyes. When it came down to it, she really did not know what to do once he confessed.

He stopped a few inches in front of her, his body towering before hers. He was really tall and very much masculine. Sakura caught a whiff of his arctic scent. "I…," she tried to answer, but her vocal chords did not seem to be working. "I…."

Sasuke lifted a hand and cup her face. Her thumb brushed against her cheek and Sakura had a flash of déjà vu.

_A white room. A trampled rose. Bright crimson eyes and her silver tears._

Sakura blinked in confusion. _What was that?_

"You're not ready," said Sasuke, startling Sakura out of her day-dream. He pulled away slowly, "It's late. You better go."

Sakura looked at him, but he averted her gaze. "Sasuke-kun…"

"I'll walk you," he offered.

Sakura had almost nodded, but she remembered Neji. "It's okay. Neji-san had promised that he'll take me home."

The Uchiha froze and his charcoal eyes hardened, his expression guarded. "Do what you wish," he finally said coldly before walking away.

Sakura silently watched the door closed behind his back, feeling strangely guilty and confused.

_

* * *

_

_Haruno Residence, Evening_

By the time Neji had dropped Sakura home, it was already in the evening. She bid him a quick goodbye and promised to meet again the next day at school. When she entered the house, her mother was at the kitchen counter, preparing for dinner.

"Oh, Sakura!" Mrs. Haruno greeted cheerfully. "Welcome home!"

The pink haired teen took a sniff, recognizing a familiar mouth-watering aroma. "Do I smell curry?" she asked hopefully. Her mother confirmed with a smile, stirring a pot full of bright orange liquid on their elegant freestanding dual oven stove.

Sakura dropped her canvas heavy bag (deep red color, her favorite) on one of the dining chair and took another seat for herself. Sakura loved watching her mother cook, because the woman handled the kitchen like she was dancing.

"Oh right, Sakura," Mrs. Haruno stopped stirring and turned to her daughter. "Do you mind going to the minimarket? We're short on potatoes."

"Not at all, Okaa-chan," Sakura stood up and reached for her wallet.

Mrs. Haruno nodded, "Thank you, dear! Be careful on your way, it will be dark soon."

Sakura waved her hand dismissively, "I'll be fine, Okaa-chan! Even if anything happens I'm pretty confident I can run fast enough!"

The pinknette took a peak towards the clock on her way out. It was late. Once she had set her foot outside, it was already dark. The alley was empty, and the yellow streetlights gave an occasional flicker as if it was ready to die. Sakura walked quickly, not liking the eerie atmosphere. Although their neighborhood was not dangerous, it was not the safest.

She might be paranoid, but Sakura thought she hear some footsteps behind her. She took occasional glances, but saw none on her tails. She picked up her pace, and the foreign footsteps picked up as well. She took another backwards glance and she swore she saw somebody's silhouette escaping her vision.

Sakura had enough. She ran as fast as she could, not really thinking where she was going. When she realized where her fear had taken her, it was already too late. She had met up with a dead end. Cursing her luck, the pinknette pivoted on her heels, but three tall figures had blocked her exit.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" the muscular one cooed in mockery. His face was was fuzzy with untidy facial hair. His nose was round and red.

"A pink haired bitch," added the leanest and tallest of the three. His nose was crooked like it had been broken in three different places, possibly the result of some fighting.

The third one gave a chuckle. His hair was gray, and his lips were crooked into a sinister smirk. He appeared to be the smartest of the three, and that what makes him the most dangerous.

Sakura took steps backwards as the three tugs began advancing on her. Her back met the cold concrete wall, and she realized that she had come to an end. In one desperate act, Sakura dashed forward, ducking under the muscular thug's arms, evading the sinister one, but her cheek suddenly met a trembling force and her body hit the side wall hard.

A hand grabbed her hair and pulled her face upwards, her emerald eyes widen with fear as she found a hairy face very close to hers. His breath reeked of alcohol. Her hand flew forward and her polished nails clawed his face as deep as she could.

The muscular thug gave an angry shout and released the pinknette. Sakura tried to stand up but one thug pushed her forward. Hands grabbed her all over her body and she trashed and screamed with all her might. She received another slap, her head spinning at the force. Two hands held her shoulders and pushed her face to meet the rough pavement, she felt it scratching her cheek. The lower part of her body was in awkward position. Her bottom was lifted up the ground. In her short skirted uniform, her panties were displayed for the entire world to see. Sakura heard the men groaned lustfully. She felt a hand grabbed her underwear and tears sprang into her eyes.

"No….," she whispered pitifully.

"Don't worry baby," one said in her ear, breathing sickening odor and made her head throbbed. "You'll enjoy this."

Sakura screwed her eyes shut. _Was this it? She would be rapped here, just like that?_

_Somebody, help…_

The hands that were groping her were suddenly gone. "What the-?" one of the thugs started but he gave a blood-curling scream instead. "You-!" another shouted in anger, but a loud slam echoed after, followed by a hoarse choke.

Sakura flipped her body just in time to see the sinister thug being held by his neck on the wall by a black-haired man. The other two of the thugs lied on the ground, unconscious, thick red liquid pooling underneath their bodies.

The white-haired thug struggles futilely, hands clawing at the hand holding his neck, feet kicking everywhere, but the assailant would not budge. Sakura's eyes widen as she recognized the stranger's familiar hair style and figure.

Uchiha Sasuke. He looked enraged. Black comma shaped markings covered half of his face and his entire left arm, his eyes were crimson red.

"Fuck!" the thug choked, "Let go! Shit, please don't kill me, man!"

"I won't kill you," Sasuke spoke in icy wrath, red eyes flickering dangerously. "It would be too kind." The Uchiha tightened his grip and the thug choked again. Sakura realized that whatever Sasuke planned to do, it would be worse than death.

Sasuke threw the thug to the pavement and jammed one foot on the thug's chest to keep the gray haired man on the ground. And then he closed his hands together, as if gripping onto something.

A katana suddenly appeared in his hand. "Disappear," he commanded in a deadly tone.

_No!_ Somebody in Sakura's mind shouted in horror.

Just as her savior was about to stab the thug, a calm but stern voice suddenly penetrated the alley: "That's enough, Sasuke."

Sasuke stopped all movement.

From behind the shadows on the wall, a silver haired man with an eye patch suddenly stepped forward. Sakura remembered Hatake Kakashi.

"Get a hold of yourself, _Temme_!" said a new voice. A young man with spiky blonde hair and cerulean blue eyes stepped up from the shadows across where Kakashi appeared. He looked young, probably the same age as Sakura and Sasuke. His cheeks were streaked with whisker-like scars, and he wore an orange T-shirt with black trousers.

"Tch," Sasuke grunted and lifted his foot off the thug's chest, but not before giving a painful kick. The thug's head hit the floor hard and he fell unconscious. "Kakashi," the Uchiha spoke to the older man, "You're not late."

"By the looks of it, I'm probably as late as I can be," Kakashi replied grimly, taking the carnage around him.

The boy in orange crouched beside one of the thug's body and pressed two fingers on the neck. "They're not dead," he stated with a hint of disappointment. "But they will be, if they did not have immediate care."

"I'll call the ambulance after I erased their memories," Kakashi sighed. He turned to Sakura that was still lying on the floor. "Are you okay, Sakura?" he asked in evident concern.

Sakura was shaking. She felt numb and her mind was overloaded with thoughts. She looked at the three men before her. The orange boy and Kakashi were extremely calm, as if the incident was an everyday thing. Sasuke on the other hand, he still looked enraged, his eyes were still crimson red but the black markings had disappeared.

"Sakura-chan?" The orange boy took a step forward and Sakura reacted by scrambling backwards until her back hit the concrete wall once more.

Sasuke was in front of her in an instant.

"NO!" Sakura screamed fearfully. Her hands flew to his chest to push him away, but he caught them instead and pinned them to the wall.

"Sakura, calm down," he commanded.

"No! Get away from me!" She tried kicking him, but her legs had not regained their strength. "GET AWAY! Get away! Get away, get away, get way…," her scream gradually reduced to whimpering plea. She stopped struggling, but her mind was still rushing. Her oversized emerald eyes searched Sasuke's red with thousands of implied questions.

"Sasuke, you're hurting her," Kakashi spoke from his crouching position beside the gray haired thug. He was doing something with his hand on victim's face.

Sasuke released her hands but did not move from his position.

The orange boy crouched beside Sasuke, looking at the pinknette with sad eyes. "Sakura-chan, are you afraid of me?"

He looked so sad. Sakura suddenly felt very foolish. "I… I'm sorry. I was just…"

"You're hysterical," said Sasuke.

Sakura glared at her savior, "I'm not! I'm just surprised."

"It's understandable," said Kakashi. The older man had joined the boys, crouching before the girl. "Are you hurt anywhere, Sakura?"

"I'm fine," the pinknette replied. With the adrenaline gone, Sakura felt her cheeks stinging and her knees throbbing. Her shoulders felt like it would bruise in the morning. However, compared to what would have happened to her if Sasuke had not appeared, she was better than anything.

Her brilliant green eyes searched Sasuke, "Thank you… for saving me."

"Hn," the raven haired grunted. "You're bleeding."

Sakura touched her cheek and wince at the pain, "No shit. What am I going to tell mom?"

Kakashi and the orange boy looked at her peculiarly. "So you really have forgotten, Sakura-chan?" asked the orange boy.

"What?" Sakura frowned. "What did I forget?"

"About us," Kakashi replied. "About yourself, about your life."

Sakura could feel her jaw drop. "I'm sorry," she began slowly, "I think you've got the wrong person. I don't know you guys."

"No," said Sasuke sternly. "We didn't get the wrong person. It's you."

"How do you know that?" she snapped. "What made you so sure?"

Sasuke's hand suddenly slammed beside her face. Sakura screw her eyes shut. "I know, Sakura," the Uchiha whispered in her ears, "Believe me, I know."

She shuddered. In fear of lust she did not know. Perhaps it was a mix of those emotions. Familiar images filtered into her mind, but it was too hazy to be recognized.

"Temme, you're scaring her!" the blonde protested.

"Sasuke, you're not making this easier to her." Kakashi pulled the raven haired away from the frightened girl. "Go home and cool yourself. Let me handle the things here."

Sasuke would not budge. "No," he replied stubbornly.

"You're angry and unstable," said Kakashi sternly. "Don't think I did not see you using the seal. If it activated again against your will, things will only get worse."

Sasuke was about to say no, but he felt Sakura's fearful eyes on him. "Fine," he grudgingly admitted that his mentor was right. He stood up and walked away.

"Naruto, go with Sasuke," Kakashi instructed to the orange boy.

"Yea, yea," replied the blonde in boredom. Naruto turned to the pinknette, "Come back soon, Sakura-chan. Temme is starting to act like a real pain without you around." He stood up and followed the sulking Uchiha, disappearing into the shadows.

Kakashi sighed and turned to the pinknette. "I'm sorry, Sakura. Sasuke is a bit unstable. He really missed you, you know."

_A bit?_ Sakura thought grimly. Sasuke acted like he was an escapee from the mental hospital. Wait, he missed her?

"Kakashi-san," she began warily. "Whatever he told you, I think it's a mistake. I have never met him before."

"It's because you have lost a great deal of memory."

Sakura shook her head. "No, I don't think I have amnesia. My memories are clear and I have diaries entry all the way back from my elementary years."

The older man was silent for awhile. "Perhaps you are right. We might be mistaken. But you resemble too much with someone very dear to us."

Sakura nodded. "I think I understand. If you lost someone dear, you will start seeing her in everything."

It was okay now, she thought in relief. They would leave her alone now. She had made it clear that they had the wrong person.

Feeling slightly relieved, her curiosity kicked in. "Is she important to Sasuke?"

Kakashi gave her a harmless smile. "Do you want to see her? I think you will understand more if you see it from our side."

"Is it far?"

"You'll be there in an instant."

That tickled her suspicion.

"I promise to take you back to anywhere you want after that," the older man assured convincingly.

"You won't… hold me against my will?" she asked doubtfully.

"Never," replied Kakashi earnestly.

She still looked unconvinced.

"Sakura," he began warily. "We're not humans. We don't break promises and we don't lie. It's not our nature."

His statement did not surprise Sakura, by now she had already known that her three saviors were nothing human… at least, nothing ordinary. If anything, she felt like she had heard that sentence somewhere before. The déjà vu was back. Sakura studied the silver haired man carefully. He looked sincere. If she went with him, she might found answers to her own questions.

"Okay," she finally answered, "but I want to be back before midnight."

"That could be arranged," the older man stood up and brushed some imaginary dust from his clothes. He offered a hand and Sakura received the help.

"Well then," Kakashi gave the shadows on the wall a light push, a dark alleyway suddenly became visible. "Shall we go?"

There was still doubt in Sakura's heart, but she realized that this might be the only change she got to answering her questions. Holding her head high, the pinknette tried to show some bravery.

... and then, they started walking into the shadows.

* * *

_"Where are you taking me?"_

_"To our home, in a different world from here."_

_"What are you guys?"_

_"We are the Devourers."_

* * *

**TBC??**

* * *

A/N: I'm back! I know it's getting confusing. The truth will come slowly, so don't expect a sudden explanation. I apologize that the update is going on slow, but I have a new job and it really suck up my energy. I barely had some left to make something productive. As usual, I had checked the spelling and grammars the best I can, sorry if there are still some errors. Thank you for all the positive response. I hope you will stay with me and this fic. Till next time! 

Anyway, I just want to know: How many of you thought this was going to be a vampire story?

There is a trivia of this story in my profile that was updated regulary. It's nothing like a chapter, but I decided to put it up to make up with my slow update.


	3. The White World

Disclaimer: Naruto is copyrighted to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

**Dusk**

**Chapter 2 -EXTRA- : The White World **

* * *

_The Alleyway between Worlds_

As Sakura and Kakashi walked through the mysterious path, the pinknette tried not to think back about what she was about to experience back in the dark dead end. She felt her cheeks throbbed and gently rubbed the stinging pain absentmindedly.

Trying to forget the traumatic experience, Sakura turned her attention towards the silver-haired man that was walking by her side.

Kakashi looked like a regular human, except that he had silver hair (but she had pink hair, so silver hair was totally acceptable in her book). His skin was a regular copper color and he radiated body heat. He did not look like a supernatural being at all… well, unless all those vampire flicks were lying to Sakura, since she had never seen any ghost or vampire before.

"Kakashi-san?" the pinknette finally decided to ask.

"Hum?"

"What are you guys?"

Kakashi spared her a sideway glance. He did not immediately reply, probably thinking his answer. "I don't know about it myself. But some people called us the Devourers."

"Devourers…," Sakura tested the name in her tongue.

"We never call ourselves that." said Kakashi as he looked forward the darken alley, "but I suppose it fits."

"How so?"

"We devour human souls... and absorb their existence."

Sakura turned to the older man with widened eyes. "Human… souls?"

"Yes."

"But you look…" the girl trailed off half into the sentence. She thought he looked too much a human. For one looking so human to forget and not to feel anything as they consume their kin, he must have been doing it for a very long time. "Have you always been like this?"

He looked thoughtful. "I had been a human at one point…," he began slowly, "but it was a long time ago. I don't remember much about it... except occasional feelings of sadness."

Sakura gave the man beside her a once over. "How old are you exactly?"

"My physical features indicated that I had been in my mid twenties when I was born as a Devourer. I have not aged ever since then."

Sakura thought over the information she had just received. "If you were a human once…. how do you become… a devourer?"

He looked at her win unreadable expression, but his eyes were filled with mixed emotions. "Do you want to become one?"

She instantly knew that she had touched a sensitive subject. "No! I was just…."

"Then you're better off not knowing."

"I see," the pinknette replied meekly.

The way Kakashi had said it, there was a finality in his tone. Sakura knew that their conversation was over. A little disappointed, the pinknette continued to walk beside the mysterious silver haired man in silence.

* * *

_The Unknown World_

The unexpectedly short journey came to an end as the mysterious alleyway ended with a solid black door. When Kakashi opened it, Sakura was instantly greeted by brightness. It was like the door that separated darkness and light.

Sakura took in her surroundings with amazement.

When Kakashi had invited her to come to his world, she had expected it would be somewhere dark and gloomy. She had expected an old mansion on the top of barren hills with a constant cloudy weather and lightning bolts. She had expected something cliché.

Instead, the pinknette was greeted with emptiness. She had never seen so much space. The earth was smooth and colorless. The horizon was draped with a faint blue sky, so pale that it was almost white. There was no Sun, but it was as bright as broad daylight.

"Where… is this?" she asked Kakashi with bated breath.

"This is where we, Naruto, Sasuke, and I, live," Kakashi replied solemnly. "As far as I know, our race was the only one capable of opening the door to this place."

"It's so….," Sakura tried to find a word to describe the place, but in the end she kept her opinion for herself.

_It's so empty..._

A small house stood not far from where the two of them were standing. It was the only house in that empty land. The house was painted white, and so does the wooden posts around it. A dying cherry blossom tree stood in solitary on the corner of the lot.

Kakashi gave her his trademarked harmless smile. "Shall we go?"

The pinknette could only reply with an anxious nod.

They crossed the posts. Sakura noticed that the house was the only thing that gave any sign of life. There was an untended flower bed decorating the right side of the house and several pots of what must have been roses. Sakura wondered why they had stopped taking care of the garden.

Kakashi opened the wooden door (made of fine oak). It was then Sakura could see the interior of the house.

The room had everything in white; the floor, the wall, the doors. A single, grand Victorian style window stood majestically on one side, framed with blood-red curtains.

Two figures stood near the window, one young man and one was a young woman. Sakura could only see their silhouettes because they were standing against the light coming from outside. They were touching, but not leaning against each other. The girl's hands were placed on the boy's chest.

"It's not… like that," the girl whispered pleadingly.

A sudden call from Kakashi forced Sakura to look away from the scene. "Sakura?" the older man inquired with a hint of concern.

Sakura spared a glance towards the silver haired man. "Yes?"

"You spaced out."

The pinknette blinked in confusion. She turned her attention back to the window but the couple had disappeared.

_What…?_ She asked herself in disbelief.

She looked around just to make sure. She saw Sasuke sitting on an elder chair near the fireplace. Naruto was by the couch, looking at her with questioning eyes. There was no couple anywhere in that room.

_That was…. That was really odd. Had she been day-dreaming?_

Kakashi crossed the room and made a gesture for Sakura to follow. He took one photograph that was lining the bar on the top of the hearth and gave it to the pinknette.

Sakura studied the black and white photo curiously. In the photograph, there was Sasuke wearing black suit. He was standing beside a girl with white lacy dress. Sakura did not recognize the photo, but she knew what moment that was captured into it.

It was a wedding photo.

"This is…"

The girl's hair was pulled up in an oriental bun, pinned with a few ornamental chopsticks. It took awhile for Sakura to recognize the familiar face.

"This girl… who is she?" she asked uncertainly.

That girl looked like her.

"Can't you see it?" Naruto spoke excitedly. "It's you! That girl is you, Sakura-chan!"

_Me?_

"You are not Haruno Sakura, the human," said Kakashi. "You are Sakura, a Devourer, our dearest friend, and Sasuke's –,"

That piece of information sent an alarm off in her head. "No!" she refused to hear the rest of the sentence, her posture stiffened up. "That's absurd! This photo was taken ages ago –,"

"In 1943," Sasuke corrected promptly.

"Still ages ago! I'm seventeen! You can't possibly think I am this girl?!"

"Yes." The Uchiha stood up, eyes blazing with cold fire. "You were born in 1925. You were seventeen when you became one of us. You've been with us ever since."

"You're all crazy," she took a step back, suddenly scared. "I can't be a Devourer. I don't eat human souls and make them disappear!"

"Sakura," Sasuke began with strained coolness. "Why are you denying this?"

_Denying?! This is…._

_… __this__ is unacceptable!_

"I am not your Sakura!" she yelled fiercely, close to tears.

Everyone looked startled with her outbursts. Sasuke gave an angry growl and was about to jump, but Kakashi held him back.

"Don't force her, Sasuke." The older man turned to the confused girl. "Sakura, can't you at least consider the possibility? You are our friend and we want to have you back if it is possible."

"I-," Sakura sobered up from her hysteria, feeling slightly embarrassed for being such a drama queen. She drew a long breath and tried again slowly, "I'm sorry, Kakashi-san. I really think I am not _her_."

The man looked serious. "Can you tell us why?"

The pinknette thought up the reason. Why did the idea appear so absurd to her? It was possible that the Devourers had the power to alter memories. She might have been living a false life all this time. It was a possibility. But….

She thought about Ino, her smile and her laughs. She thought about TenTen and Lee and all the people who had disappeared and never to be remembered. The thought of them being a false memory… she found it very painful.

"Because," she began reluctantly, looking at the three men standing before her with determined eyes. "Because if I have to devour somebody's existence to keep on living… I- I don't think I can live like that."

Sasuke stiffened and Naruto shifted uncomfortably. Silence fell upon the white room. Sakura bowed her head, averting Sasuke's eyes and feeling strangely ashamed.

_Why? Why does his presence evoke so many strange emotions within her?_

It had not been long when Sasuke finally turned his back to the other occupants in the room.

"Sasuke-temme…," Naruto eyed his friend uncomfortably.

"Leave me alone, Dobe," the Uchiha left the house without turning back.

Naruto shifted another uncomfortable glance towards the pink haired girl before following his friend despite the warning.

It did not take a genius to know that Sakura had hurt them. What she had said just now… it might have hit deeper than she had intended.

Sakura turned to Kakashi. "Kakashi-san, I-,"

The older man shook his head, "It's okay, Sakura. I understand."

Sakura chose to stay silent, not really believing him. She regretted voicing her reason; she even regretted ever thinking about it. That unfamiliar place in her heart twisted painfully.

"I suppose you want to go home, now?" asked Kakashi, giving her a bit of a cold shoulder.

Sakura took one last glance towards the elder chair where Sasuke had sat not too long ago. "… yes," she replied. "Yes, please take me home, Kakashi-san."

He said nothing else and escorted the pinknette to outside the white house. He brought her back to the empty field and opened a white door out of no where. Sakura stepped into it with no question asked.

Beyond the door is her house. The Haruno Residence. It was already dark, her wrist watch told her it was almost midnight. The pinknette turned back to bid Kakashi good bye, but he beat her into it.

"I guess this is good bye," he said, there was still slight coldness biting the edge of his tone.

"Yes," replied Sakura, feeling considerably small and ashamed, like a student being scolded by a teacher. "Good bye…"

The silver haired man turned his back on her and stepped back into the other side of the door. However, before the lid had completely closed, Sakura heard him said:

"Just consider one thing, Sakura. Why do you think you noticed the disappearance of those humans?"

Sakura could not think of an answer and the door merged back into the shadows, leaving her alone in the flickering street light and in front of the house that she somehow had not missed.

* * *

_Haruno Residence, midnight_

When Sakura entered her house, the hallway was still lightened and she saw her mother sitting by the dinner table.

_Damn, I'm going to be so grounded._ Inner Sakura gave a nervous gulp.

"Tadaima," Sakura greeted carefully, feeling unprepared for the upcoming burst of anger.

"Oh, Sakura! You're back!" her mother exclaimed gladly before her eyes widen in surprise. "Dear God! What happened to your face? Did you fell on your way back?"

It was then Sakura noticed the dull throb on her cheek again. She had almost forgotten the incident that had happened on her way to the minimarket. Her short visit to the white world had completely turned her emotions upside down she barely remembered what had had happened before.

"I… I fell," the pinknette tried unsurely, "I lost my balance and my cheek slammed hard to the wall." Sakura thought the story was pitiful but it was the only thing that came up her mind.

Fortunately, her mother bought it. "Oh dear! Why are so clumsy sometimes? Let me get you an icepack, I'll ease the pain a little."

Sakura rubbed the tender flesh absently. "That would be wonderful. Thanks, Mom."

The older woman stood up and went to the kitchen counter. She took out an ice pack from the fridge, and then crossed the panel to opened the microwave. She retrieved a cup of steaming hot chocolate. "Anyway, how's the project? You finished it, right? Did you thank the Hyuuga before leaving their house?"

Sakura blinked in confusion. _Thank the Hyuuga? __P__roject?_

The pinknette received the ice pack and the cup from her mother; the brown and thick liquid looked tasty. "I… told you I'll be doing a project?" she asked, wincing as the ice connected with her bruised cheek.

"Of course, silly!" replied Mrs. Haruno with a smile. "You told me this morning, remember?"

"Oh," the pink haired girl gave a nervous laugh, "I did, did I? Heheheh... I guess I forgot."

Sakura lied. She did not remember doing such things. Did Kakashi do this?

Her mother shook her head and sighed. "You must have been tired. I'll wash that cup for you. You should go on and rest."

Sakura finished the hot chocolate and thank her mother. She went straight to her room, still confused over the fact that Sasuke and the others had somehow saved her life again… this time from her mother's wrath.

The pinknette did not bother to do anything else and flung herself onto her bed tiredly. As she drifted up to the dream land she vaguely wondered if she would ever see Sasuke and the others again.

_… __probably__ not._

* * *

_Dreaming… I was dreaming again._

_There was darkness. The air was heavy with tension._

_You stood there, cold and silent, like always._

_"Sakura…"_

_Black markings crept over your face and neck._

_"They will pay for what they did to you, Sakura."_

* * *

**End of Chapter Two**

**To be Continued**

* * *

Note: This is part of Chapter 2 that was removed previously due to a couple of reasons. After I completed Chapter 3, this part will be merged back into Chapter 2 and this page will be replaced by the actual Chapter 3. 

Thank you for all your support. I will try to update more frequently but I can't promise you anything since my schedule is dancing upside down.

Well...**REVIEW** (grins) You should review… I will be most grateful and it will improve my writing. It doesn't have to be long… you can just rate it from 0 to 9 (0 for "disaster", 9 for "almost perfect").


	4. Cascading Recollections

Disclaimer: Naruto and all related characters are copyrighted to Masashi Kishimoto.

Dedication: For all my faithful reviewers, who have stayed with me so far even though I update slower than snails (grins). For KathH, for giving me the lengthy comments I really enjoyed reading. I am glad that most of you are positive about my gigantic chapters …. Or is it too short? Heheh…

Warning: flashbacks, violence, angst, smut. For mature readers, childish ideals are not welcomed.

* * *

_I have been dreaming… _

_A long... Never-ending, dream..._

_In that dream I have loved… I have hated…. I have died…. _

_In that dream I have changed…. _

_But perhaps, that was the truest form of my nature_

_I have dreamt of the past… _

_Or was it the catalyst to resolve my future?_

* * *

**Dusk**

**Chapter 3: Cascading Recollections**

_Dark…._

_Damp…._

_Rusty…._

_Knee deep in a pool of crimson liquid… Blood… So much blood…._

_The corrosive scent overpowered all senses. Nauseous. The scent of blood… the crimson life belonged to many unnamed visage… their haunting cries are still echoing continuously… miserably._

_Somebody was pleading…. _

_Stop… please, stop…_

_…a familiar voice… my own voice._

_ "Sakura…"_

_You stood there, cold and silent, like always. Drenched in blood, the crimson life dripped thickly from the tips of your hair… clotting on your skin. Black markings crept over your face and neck. Whiteness blended into your hair as they grew longer, your skin turned gray. There was a sickening sound of tearing clothes and claw-like wings sprouted from your back. _

_You opened your eyes… but your pupils are neither black nor red._

_… only cursed yellow. _

_"They will pay for what they did to you, Sakura." _

* * *

_Haruno Residence, morning_

Sakura woke up with chilled sweat.

The first thing that registered in her still fear-clouded mind was that her cheeks stung like a bitch. The second thing she realized was that she did not recognize her surroundings. She lifted one hand to rub her stinging cheek gently while her eyes searched around the unfamiliar room.

_Where am I?_

The room looked familiar but she felt like she was in a foreign place. Minimalist pastel green interior, a white sheeted western bed, and a flicker of sunlight filtered through the forest green curtain.

The recognition came with a sudden crash. Sakura realized that she was still in her own room.

The pinknette beat herself over her stupidity. She could not understand why she failed to identify her own room. In her startled wake, she had not expected the pastel colored settings. Her mind had expected something else… something white.

_What the hell am I thinking?_

Her alarm clock suddenly gave an annoying shriek and Sakura almost fell off the bed. She hit the OFF button grudgingly. School was only a few hours away, but she did not feel like getting up.

Aside from just having what must be the strangest nightmare ever, Sakura did not feel like she had been resting at all. She did not feel like doing anything but to curl up underneath her blankets and sorted out the unexplainable pain and twisted sadness in her heart.

* * *

_Konoha Academy for the Gifted, Free Period, Library_

The Library in Konoha Academy barely lived up to its name. It was old and unkempt. The floor was made of timber that whimpered every time somebody stepped onto it. The walls were lined with wooden bookcase cramped with outdated books. Three rusty metallic fans hanged from the ceiling, barely operating. Sakura dare to bet those ceiling fans were a couple of decades older than Sarutobi-sama, the school principle.

There were only several peoples in the Library. Some first years were occupying a large wooden table at the corner of the room, doing some geography project. Few seniors sat in front of the bookcases, giving occasional sneezes as they turn a dusty yellowish page.

Sakura and Neji, on the other hand, sat on a study desk facing a window that displayed the southern school park. Neji often tutored Sakura in Modern Physics since it was the only subject that Sakura had a hard time trying to grasp the concept.

"… is the cosmological model of the universe," explained Neji, not really noticing that his tutee was spacing out. "The primary assertion is that the universe has expanded into its current state from a primordial condition of enormous density and temperature… Sakura-san… are you listening?"

"Oh!" Sakura exclaimed sheepishly. She quit studying the wood pattern on the desk. "I'm sorry, Neji-san! I spaced out… again." The pinknette was really embarrassed. That must have been the third time she zoned out from her boyfriend.

Neji studied her face and she averted his gaze. "You're tired. Let's take a break," he suggested, neither mad nor disappointed.

"Sorry," Sakura repeated apologetically. She dared to look up and was surprised to find the handsome Hyuga's face in front of her.

Her heart instantly picked up its pace.

"N-neji-san," she whispered uncertainly, eyeing his lips.

They had never shared a kiss before. Ever since they had started dating, their relationships had barely progressed at all. It was not clear which one of them that was holding back, all Sakura knew that they just never found the right moment.

The Hyuuga leaned in, his intention clear.

Her heart was drumming in her ears. _Should she kiss him? Was... was it really alright?_

Sakura studied her boyfriend's face. His pale skin and charcoal eyes… his spiky black hair… _Sasuke?_

_No!_

Sakura gave the boy a shove in the chest. When she realized her mistake, it was already too late. The damage was done.

Neji looked at her in the eyes questioningly. "Sakura-san?"

Sakura did not dare to look at him in the face. "I… I'm sorry."

The Karate Captain shook his head, "No, I'm sorry. I should not have forced you."

_You never forced me_, said her inner self. "No, Neji-san," the pinknette began sadly, "It's not you… it's me. I'm sorry."

An uncomfortable silence fell upon them. Neither of them spoke for a moment, trying to absorb what had just happened.

"I should go," said Neji finally, "the team probably needs some help."

Sakura nodded, equally eager to step away from the awkward moment.

The Hyuuga prodigy gave her a polite nod before exiting the library.

Sakura sighed. _What the hell was happening to her?!_ Inner Sakura was beating her self for pulling away just when they were about to get somewhere. Fan-girl Sakura was crying tearfully.

_That Sasuke… why won't he leave her alone?_

_When she pulled away… did she pull away from Sasuke? Or was it because of the sudden guilt for trying to kiss Neji?_

A chuckle that came from the corner of the room startled Sakura away from her thoughts. She turned towards the source and found a man in black standing in the dark corner. His face was oval shaped and very thin, his cheekbones sticking out noticeably. He had fine black hair that reached the middle of his back. His yellow silted eyes were glinting in the darkness.

_'That man… looks creepy'_, thought Sakura. "Can I help you?" she asked carefully.

"Sakura, sakura, sakura….," the creepy man 'tsk'-ed, his voice was slippery, the prolonged 'S' made it sounded like he was hissing.

Sensing the sinister air, Sakura stood up in alarm and stepped back. "Who are you?"

Her eyes darted around the room but it was empty. _Where did everybody go?_

The man gave an eerie smile. "I have heard the news that you've been found, Sakura-chan." His eyes narrowed dangerously, "So I just have to see you myself."

Sakura took more steps backwards. "What do you want from me?"

She put her hands into her jeans pocket but only found a needle pointed pen. Her cold her fists closed around it tightly in a desperate attempt to have a weapon.

The man advanced forward. "So the rumor was true, you have forgotten who you are." He looked at her up and down, like he was trying to judge something. "… or have you really?"

He suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind her. Sakura barely had time to react before on of his hand clamped over her mouth and the other circled her waist.

"!!" Sakura tried to scream, but it was muffled.

His hand was cold and marble white. It was slick and smooth… like a snake's skin.

"You still smelled the same," he whispered into her ears. Sakura shuddered in fear and disgust. The hand on her waist traveled upward, reaching for one of her breast.

Sakura suddenly had a flash of déjà vu.

_His snake like tongue caressed her cheek. "What are you going to do, Sakura-chan? Now that Sasuke-kun had left you?" _

The pinknette snapped. She popped the pen open and stabbed it into the man's wandering hand. At the same time she bit the hand that was covering her mouth hard.

He gave a pained grunt and released his hold on her. Sakura dashed towards the empty receptionist desk, grabbing a pair of scissor and pointing it towards her assailant like a sword. Her breath labored with adrenaline.

However, the man did not move to return the attack. He lifted his injured hand and licked the blackened blood that sprouted from the wound. "It seemed you really have forgotten, otherwise you would have given me your mean left hook."

He gave another sinister chuckle. "Interesting, this has made my plan considerably easier," said the snake-like man without a tiny bit mirth.

"Who are you!" demanded Sakura, her hands were shaking but her confusion had overridden her fears.

The man looked at her with a hint of twisted humor in his eyes. His presence started fading; becoming transparent like a ghost. "You used to call me, Orochimaru-sama," he replied with a satisfied chuckle.

When he was gone, Sakura could only stare at the empty spot.

_"Until we meet again, Sakura-chan…."_

Sakura screw her eyes shut and clenched her fists. She could still feel the slippery hand over her body. She tried to block the memories, but it was branded into her mind.

_Why did these things keep happening to her?_

The school bell rang, indicating the end of the free period. Sakura gathered her things and left the library at top speed, swearing that she would never return again.

* * *

_Konoha Academy for the Gifted, 5th Period, Advanced Geometry_

Advanced Geometry was one of those subjects that had the power to make you stare at the white board dumbly, wondering if the teacher was just making up the answers… since it barely made any sense at all. Those type of subjects always made you want to curse Newton… or whoever it was that founded Geometry.

Sakura rarely curse… well, at least not outspokenly.

… but, dammit! Kurenai-Sensei was acting like a bitch.

The raven haired Sensei was moody all the time and snapped every time the class got a little crowded. Sakura thought it was probably that time of the month, but Kurenai-Sensei had never act with so much frustration before.

"Ne, Shika-maru," Sakura whispered to the bored student that was sitting beside her. She could not believe that she was about to gossip with the Class President… but Ino was gone and Shikamaru was the only one she had left in the dreaded Geometry Class. "Do you think something happened between Kurenai-Sensei and Asuma-Sensei? I haven't seen him today."

"Eh?" Shikamaru turned to her with an expression that spelled 'bored-to-death'. "Asuma-Sensei? Who is that? A new teacher?"

Sakura froze. No. Way. Shikamaru could never forget about Asuma-Sensei. The lazy genius had Asuma for Homeroom Teacher the year before.

"Uhh, forget it," the pinknette muttered venomously under her breath.

Not Asuma-sensei, too?! She thought grudgingly. She had assumed that those Devourers would finally leave her alone. Obviously she was mistaken.

Shikamaru gave her a puzzled look for being so angry but he decided not to ask (since it would be too troublesome).

Sakura mulled over her thoughts. She promised herself that the next time she saw either Sasuke, Naruto, or Kakashi she would give them a piece of her mind.

"Say, Sakura," Shikamaru began another conversation.

"Mm?" the pinknette looked at the lazy genius questioningly. It was rare that Shikamaru willingly started a conversation. He was usually too busy dozing off and watching the clouds.

The Class President took a moment looking reluctant before he eventually came around and asked, "Have you seen Ino around?"

That sobered Sakura like a bucket of ice water. "Ino?" she asked back to confirm that her ears weren't just fooling her.

"Yeah…" replied Shikamaru. "I tried calling her house but I have somehow forgotten her number. I asked everyone else, but everyone looked at me as if I had asked them about the Theory of Relativity…."

The pinknette studied the Class President solemnly. (Shikamaru had forgotten something. Ino would have a blast if she was still around.)

_Maybe… maybe Shikamaru was the same as herself? _

The idea was completely eliminated as soon as it was thought. Although Shikamaru remembered Ino, he had forgotten about Asuma. His case was different than hers.

But may be… may be he knew something that she did not. After all, Shikamaru was not in the top of the class for nothing.

Sakura considered telling him her problems… but she then remember what Hinata had said to her the other day. Ino had been disposed because she saw something she was not supposed to see. Sakura did not want that to happen to anyone else.

No…. She would deal with this herself.

"I'm sorry… I don't know what you're talking about either." Sakura lied, hoping that she sounded genuine.

"Oh, okay." Shikamaru looked a bit disappointed but did not press further. He returned to the task of trying to fall asleep. He was the only one that dared doing that in the presence of Kurenai-Sensei (since he had mastered the subject anyway).

Sakura continued her reverie. She had notice yet another disappearance. Come to think of it, she had not seen Tsuchi Kin and Iruka-Sensei around that day. Tsuchi Kin was the perfect student, she never took a day off even though she was sick. A few seats in the classroom were also empty. Why had not anyone say something about it?

_Did Sasuke do it? Or was it another Devourer?_

Sakura remembered the creepy man in the library. Was he a Devourer, too?

The pinknette shook her head to chase away her thoughts. She told herself that there was probably another influenza season coming, and all the missing students were at home, trying to recover. She lied to her self. She did not want confirm the truth… because the truth might hurt more than she would have liked.

* * *

_Konoha Academy for the Gifted, South Gate_

Discounting the incident in the Library earlier that morning, the rest of Sakura's day remained uneventful. Perhaps it was because Sasuke had not come back to school and his name had magically disappeared from the attendance list.

Sakura began to walk home by herself. She was not in the mood for track practice and Neji had karate practice. She had met him before she went home, their conversation went normally and the Karate Captain told her that he might drop by her house later that evening. He gave no indication that he was upset over her rejection at the library earlier.

Sakura sighed in relief, glad that their relationship was still steady.

Her path home was not a long one. The street was vacant, bathed in afternoon sunlight. Everything seemed normal and Sakura could temporarily forget about the strange events that happened to her recently. For once, everything looked just like before Sasuke moved to her school. Everything looked normal and boring.

But anything ordinary flew out of the window when she turned around the corner that leaded to her house.

The entire view was all but empty grassland. Her house was gone. Her neighborhood was gone. The vacant police post around the corner, the stationary shop at the end of the street, the big mansion a few blocks away… everything. Everything was gone.

There was only a green meadow with grass as tall as her waist… as if the area had not been touched for the last couple of decades. In the middle of the empty field, stood an ashen blue creature. Its hair was white and long. The claw-like wings that spread across its back unfolded majestically.

Sakura could feel her lungs froze and she stopped breathing.

_Sa- Sasuke?_

The creature turned to her, looking at her with cruel red and black eyes.

Sakura felt her legs turned into jelly but she tried to be strong. In her confusion, she let her inner struggle free and he mouth ran faster than her brain. "What have you done?!" she yelled.

_Her house… was gone._

_Her parents…. What happened to her parents?!_

"What have you done to them?!" she demanded fiercely.

The creature turned slowly towards them and gave a wild satisfied look, "I have gotten rid of them."

Her hands flew to her mouth, eyes wide. "Wha- what?"

A familiar sinister chuckle cut through the air like a knife. "Are they really that important to you, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura turned her frantic emerald eyes around. _That voice…_

Orochimaru faded in to beside the Sasuke-like creature. "Your house has automatically disappeared when we ate your parents. You should have disappeared along with them since their existence was gone, and yet you are still here."

The snake-like man chuckled again and gave a shrug. "Why do you think that is?"

Sakura was speechless. "You killed them… just to prove…?"

She felt sick and nauseous.

_Because of me… they all disappeared because of me._

"Why…," she whimpered helplessly. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"I have nothing against you, Sakura-chan," Orochimaru replied in mock comfort, licking his lips as if he just had the most delectable meal. "But this is part of the deal I made with Sasuke-kun. He wanted to make you remember… I merely created the circumstances."

So the ashen blue monster was really Sasuke. Sakura did not know how he transformed him into that devilish creature, or who was responsible for making him that way... but what Sasuka had done was well past the line of her tolerance.

_Sasuke…. What happened to you?_

"Do you think… this is a joke?!" The pinknette shouted, letting her inner self took over. She glared at both men with hatred. "Do you get off by doing this to my friends... my family?!"

_To make her… remember?_

_All that pain…all that lives destroyed… just for something so trivial?_

"Sakura-san?"

Abruptly, Sakura whirled on her heels to find Neji standing not far from the three of them. Her eyes widened, "Neji-san…?"

The Karate Captain gave confused look. "I was on my way to your house but…." He looked around the empty vicinity and frowned, "What happened here?"

The pinknette felt a sudden urge to move and she ran towards the Hyuuga. She almost tackled him to the ground as her head hit his chest in a desperate attempt to hug him. "Why did you come?" whispered shakily to his chest.

"I felt the need to see you…," the Hyuuga replied uncomfortably, as if it was not right to voice such intention vulgarly. "It took me a while to find your house… I was suddenly unfamiliar with the directions."

Neji suddenly froze as he felt a murderous intent directed at him. He looked behind his girlfriend and found the ashen blue creature glaring at him with angry red eyes.

"Who are you guys?" the Hyuuga asked cautiously, understanding the danger of the situations.

"That doesn't concern you," said the creature impassively, eying the Hyuuga's arm around Sakura.

"My, that was cold, Sasuke-kun," replied Orochimaru, also eyeing the Hyuuga prodigy, but with a different kind of interest. His yellow silted eyes glinted with hunger.

The snake-like man turned to Sakura, "Your father was quite tasty, Sakura-chan." He suddenly moved so fast that it was beyond human sights.

"But I prefer somebody younger."

The snake-like man was appeared in front of Neji. A golden handled sword magically appeared in his hands and he pointed it to the heart.

The Hyuuga quickly pushed Sakura to the side and stepped back to avoid a fatal strike.

Sakura broke her fall with her hands and the rough asphalt wounded her palm, but pain was the least of her concern at that moment. She did not know what Orochimaru was trying accomplish, but the sword made it clear that the snake-like man had grave intention towards her boyfriend.

"Neji-san, run!" she yelled.

Neji was forced further away from Sakura as he swiftly avoided another attack from Orochimaru.

Sakura tried to help her boyfriend but two ashen blue arms went around her waist and she was pulled against a hard masculine chest. She struggled in vain, "Let me go!"

"No." Sasuke tightened his arm around the pinknette.

"Let me go! Please! Neji will-!" She tried elbowing her captor but he did not even budge.

"He will disappear," the monster whispered to her ear coolly, making her shudder. One of his clawed hands grasped her chin and turned her head forcefully towards the battle in front of them. "Look, Sakura. Look at his end."

Sakura looked.

Neji dodged again and again. Orochimaru attacked swiftly with his sword, looking like he was just playing with the Hyuuga.

The end came unexpectedly fast. Neji took a wrong step and his back hit a nearby wall. He barely had the chance to move when a sword suddenly went through his chest.

Sakura froze as she saw Neji doubled over in pain before his body cracked like a piece of glassware and bursting into a million shades of light.

"No!!" she yelled in anguish, her struggle renewed. She broke free from Sasuke's iron grip with unexpected strength, running towards where Neji had been standing seconds ago.

Silver pieces of bright light surrounded her… the leftover of Neji's existence. Her eyes wide in disbelief, she felt her chest tightened painfully.

_He was close… So close, but she was unable to help him._

Sakura dropped to the ground limply, her brain refused to acknowledge what had just happened. Eyes wide and memories of Neji flashed through her mind. The first time they met. The occasional discreet glances. The time he asked her to be his girlfriend. Their one-sided conversations.

There was still so much they can do.

Orochimaru caught one shade, admiring its purity in the setting sun. He put the shade into his mouth and swallowed. "Delicious," he sneered, "such purity is rare to find these days."

Sakura glared at him with as much hatred she could muster.

The snake-like man only sneered at her and turned his attention to Sasuke. "I have kept my end of the deal, Sasuke-kun. Let us go."

Sasuke opened his mouth to answer, but his response was halted by a familiar baritone voice:

"I don't think so."

Sakura looked at black door that had suddenly appeared beside her. The lid opened and from there stepped out Kakashi. He looked calm like always, but his expression was grim.

"Kakashi," Orochimaru greeted the silver haired Devourer amusedly.

Kakashi did not even acknowledge the greeting and turned his attention towards Sasuke. "You disappoint me, Sasuke," Kakashi scolded the young Uchiha. "I thought you promised not to turn back to their side again."

Sasuke looked like he regretted nothing, "… the one I promised that to was not here anymore."

"Teme!" a furious shout belonged to Naruto interrupted the conversation. The whiskered blonde stepped into the setting from the same black door Kakashi had used. Naruto looked angry and hurt, his brilliant blue eyes were shooting daggers toward his raven haired friend. "How dare you return to that Snake-bastard!"

Sasuke returned the glare with another expressionless look. "There was nothing you can do for me," he spoke coldly.

Naruto's eyes flickered orange. "Bastard!!" he yelled furiously and dashed forward, a swrilling blue energy on one hand.

Sasuke leaped away effortlessly with. He landed a few feet away from Naruto. "Even with the Rasengan, you will not be able to make me return."

Naruto lifted ranging red eyes. "If you want to go… it must be over my essence."

"Naruto…" Sasuke closed his eyes. His transformed body slowly came back to its original state. His wings shrank to his back and his hair turned black. His skin blended gradually to porcelain color. When Sasuke reopened his eyes, it was red with three swirling commas. "Your essence worth nothing."

Naruto frowned angrily, "Say what?!"

"You and and have always known that this battle is meant to happened," replied Sasuke. He crouched to a fighting position, "I will defeat you."

The raven haired Uchiha suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind Naruto, pointing a killing kunai towards his neck. Naruto dodged with a minimum distance and rolled on the ground several feet away. He quickly recovered and lunged towards his opponent.

_They were fighting!_ Inner Sakura yelled in panic.

Sakura did not exactly know why she felt anguished at the sight of the two best friends tearing each other. The battle had only begun for several minutes, but Naruto had already broken one arm and Sasuke fractured several ribs.

_I have to… stop them._

She was about took a step forward when Kakashi interrupt her with a protective stance. "Step back, Sakura."

"But-," she watched as Naruto managed to punched Sasuke brutally on the face. "Ka.. Kakashi-san."

_They will kill each other…._

"Khu-khu-khu… you should worry about yourself more, Sakura-chan,"

Orochimaru appeared behind her, the sword that had killed Neji trusted forward. Kakashi shoved the pinknette to the side, blocking the attack with a short sword.

"Run, Sakura," the silver haired man gritted between his teeth. He pushed the sword forward making Orochimaru took a few steps back.

Sakura shook her head. She could not run and leave the battle. Not when everyone was fighting for her sake.

--

The battle had gone from wrong to worse. The force of battle had driven them from the empty field to the civilization area. The fight had gotten more complex as Kakashi had to knocked passing civilians and modifying their memories. Orochimaru, on the other hand, took a simpler method and just absorbed their existence.

Sasuke and Naruto was at the end of their battle. Both of them had given their all and used their signature move against each other. With a blast of energy, Naruto was flung backwards and hit a lamppost nearby before falling down to the ground heavily. Sasuke staggered on his feet and soon both of his broken leg had given up on him. He fell to the ground, unconscious.

Kakashi had been defeated, eventhough he had managed to put quite a fight. With his opponent out of the way, Orochimaru had turned his sword towards Sakura. The Snake Sanin was also not in his perfect conditions, he took a stumbling step towards the pinknette.

Sakura had no time to be scared. She put up a brave face and positioned both of her arms in a defensive position in front of her chest.

"It's just you and I again, Sakura-chan," Orochimaru leered affectionately.

Sakura hid a shudder. "I won't come with you," she replied, stepping backwards.

Orochimaru smile sinisterly. He dashed forward and slammed Sakura to a nearby wall, raising her off the ground with a hand gripping her neck. "Don't worry, Sakura-chan. You are at the end of your usefulness."

The pinknette clawed the hands that was squeezing her throat, green eyes widened. She could not breath… was Orochimaru trying to kill her?

"What do you… mean?" she choked with much effort.

Orochimaru leaned forward and whispered to her neck. "I have been trying to get close to Sasuke so I can help him reach the level 2 curse seal."

_What?_

"Thank you, Sakura-chan. You had given me that opportunity."

Sakura felt sick. Her head throbbed from the lack of air. How long had she been held like this? She should have been dead by now.

She was seeing white. Another déjà vu.

_"If you kill me… Sasuke-kun will never come to you"_

There was a swishing sound and suddenly the hand that was squeezing her neck released its grip. Sakura dropped to the ground, coughing.

She vaguely aware that Orochimaru was screaming angrily, but the dancing spot behind her lids were distracting her. Something heavy and wet fell into her lap. Sakura opened her eyes only to see a piece of pale hand. Something had cut Orochimaru's arm off her.

It had not been a clean cut. The tendons looked more like it was ripped out of its socket forcefully. There was blood everywhere.

Sakura wanted to scream, but her nauseous won over and she almost retched at the sight.

"I told you not to touch her," a deadly voice reclaimed her attention. She looked up and saw Sasuke in half transformed state, eyes smoldering red. He was throwing Orochimaru afar.

The Snake Sanin stood up slowly, spitting blood. "Tsk," he hissed, clutching his arms where the lower part had been torned away. Orochimaru lifted his silted yellow eyes, "I will pull back for now."

The Snake-like man faded away, going transparent and fading fast. "But remember, Sakura-chan. Sasuke-kun belongs to me."

Sasuke took a step forward but he did not have enough strength. His body returned to its original state for being unable to continue the transformation. He feel on the ground, legs twisted in a weird angle.

Sakura was frozen for several moments. The events were going too fast for her mind to process. Her confused eyes fell upon the unconscious Kakashi. Around the corner she could see Naruto's body, sprawled against a rubble stone that used to be a wall.

_Are they… dead?_

_Everyone… everyone is gone…._

_No!_

She crawled towards the battered Sasuke, kneeling by his bloodied fallen body.

"Sasuke-kun…," she called to his closed eyes, praying that he would respond.

The Uchiha opened his eyes; they were back to their original black color. He looked at her blankly, like he did not feel the many wounds covering his body. "Sakura," he called, his gaze softened as he noticed tears that were rolling down the pinknette's cheek.

Sakura studied his wounds: the hole on his stomach at the size of Naruto's fist, his missing right arm, and his broken legs. There was so much blood, the crimson liquid was pooling around his body, soaking her skirt and shirt. She did not dare to touch him, he looked like he was about to shatter. He looked like he would not be able to hold on much longer.

"Don't die…," she whimpered pleadingly. Even after all the things he had done to her, and the things he did to her friends and family, seeing him like that was tearing her inside. Sakura could not deny it anymore… she was attracted to him. Her entire being was calling to him. "Please….," she repeated, silver tears soaking her cheeks and her throat tightened. "Please don't die…"

"Hn," he gave a weak snort. "Stupid," he taunted feebly before coughing up blood. "I won't die," he coughed again furiously. He looked away from her frightened gaze, ashamed that he was rendered helpless.

"Tch… all this power," he murmured, "… and still weak."

"Please …" Sakura stroked his bloodied face tenderly… desperately.

He looked at her with half lidded eyes, his strength leaving his body. "Remember Sakura…"

Sakura clutched his only arm, "I…"

"Remember who you are…."

He finally closed his eyes, his arms went slack against her.

"No!" Her emerald eyes widened in horror.

But no matter how many times she called his name, his eyes did not open.

"SASUKE-KUN!"

* * *

_Why do humans… _

_…need another?_

_Why do they hurt and love each other?_

_Why do they die… and left their loved ones miserable and alone?_

_If in the end we will be left by the one we care the most…_

_… then why do we need to find love?_

_Why do we meet the one half of our heart?_

She remembered now.

An tinkling music box…. playing a reminiscing melody. A sad… and lonely tune.

Broken images… Multicolored light filtered by artistic tinted window. Fading echoes…. so distant… and yet so close. Events so foreign… and yet familiar at the same time.

_"Sasu…ke…-kun?" _

The way they met… it was an unchangeable destiny.

_"I'm sorry! I didn't see you there!"_

His dull black eyes … and how they reflected his inner struggle.

_"Hi! My name is Sakura! And you should shake the hands of someone who introduced herself to you."_

His stoic manner … as if he had given up on emotions.

_"You are so mean, Sasuke-kun!"_

Those feelings that have yet to be comprehended….

_"Sasuke-kun, thank you."_

Those words that have yet to be conveyed…

_"Sasuke-kun, I…"_

Those wish that have yet to be fulfilled...

_"Don't worry, Sasuke-kun! I have an idea!"_

… and everything that was not suppose to happen …

_"Sasuke-kun!!"_

That day … that time….

_"No! You're all mistaken! I'm-!"_

Those unjust actions… the pitiful act of self defense….

_"Gone… everyone… everyone is gone…."_

Sakura remembered now.

Just like how everything had ended that day…. Everything had also begun that day….

* * *

_Konoha Street, Late Afternoon_

The memories that had crashed down upon her conscience were like a cascading waterfall. It was intense… however, not unpleasant. It was like she had finally awakened from a deep sleep. It was like she had been living in a monochromatic world and had suddenly realized the true colors of everything.

The feeling was like being reborn.

Her eyes snapped open, not brilliant emerald, but a soft sea foam color. Her gaze challenging the new world around her._ 'Never again,'_ Sakura swore to inner self.

With Sasuke's head was still on her lap, Sakura eyed the vacant street with the bodies of her fallen teammates around her, but this time with determination in her eyes.

The pinknette stroke Sasuke's closed eyelids gently with her thumb. She knew he was not dead. Devourers could not die because they had given up their right to live a long time ago. However, they would succumb into an eternal sleep if they received a grave injury.

Sakura could not let that happened to him. Not now when she had finally remembered who she was.

Not when they still had a lot of things talk about.

_'It's sad, but…,'_ the pinknette thought as she closed her eyes, diving into her mind. _'Looks like my vacation is over….'_

It has been a long time since she had to use her power. Sakura pondered the fact that she might be a little rusty. But then again, the power of a Devourer was not something you learn… it was something you received upon birth. Like breathing, your body remembered how to do it.

He hands glowed minty green as she concentrated her chakra to them. The light twinkled ghostly on her solemn sea foam eyes. She brushed her hand upon the hole on Sasuke's stomach and the wound became alive almost instantly.

Sakura watched new pinkish muscles sprouted and weaved together while a layer of skin cells start multiplying to cover the new the flesh. The wound had disappeared in matter of seconds.

As expected.

The pinknette closed her eyes in concentration. She pushed her chakra into the Uchiha's body, invading his blood streams and rebuilding his body from the inside. She pictured him with both of his hand and unbroken legs.

When she opened her eyes again, his body had been completely healed. He had recovered his missing limb and his legs were in their perfect conditions. He was still covered with his own blood, but Sakura knew that he would be okay.

"Sasuke-kun," she whispered softly. "It's time to wake up," her hand stroked his stained cheek tenderly, a reminiscing gesture.

His eyes were slow to open. The lids quivered for a moment before lifting leisurely. First half-lidded and then he looked at her with lazy onyx orbs.

She gave him a smile, the only kind of smile she manage to give him after _that_ day. It was a tender slightly sad curl of her lips. It was a mix of faith, relief, regret, assurance, and affectionate emotion.

Recognition flashed over his gaze and he returned her smile with a small lifting on the corner of his lips. "I knew it was you," he spoke a little bit hoarsely.

She nodded remorsefully. "I'm… sorry."

He sat up with no trouble and pinned her with an intense look.

She averted her eyes, leaning forward and dropping her head on his right shoulder. "I won't run away again," she spoke softly against his neck.

"…good," he replied with an almost nonexistent sigh and lifted his hand to pat the nape of her neck.

The mild mood was broken when somebody cleared his throat form behind the reunited couple. "If the two of you are not going to kiss… a little help here would be nice, Sakura-chan."

Sakura snapped her head up and looked her with widen eyes. Naruto was sitting up rather difficultly a few feet away. Apparently he had regained consciousness thanks to his rapid regeneration.

A feeling of relief overcame the pinknette. She released herself from Sasuke's loose grip and launched herself to Naruto with a joyful cry. "You're okay!" she exclaimed as she embraced the blonde tightly.

Naruto sputtered several 'ow' and 'ouch' but he laughed and hugged the pink haired girl back. "Welcome back, Sakura-chan."

"… dobe," muttered Sasuke grudgingly, loud enough to be heard by the whiskered blonde.

"Teme!" Naruto retorted back to his self-proclaimed rival, and if not for Sakura that was holding to his frame, he would have lunged at the raven haired teen despite his injuries.

Sakura knew that Naruto was still sour over Sasuke's betrayal, but the blond boy was naturally quick to forget his vengeance. Naruto usually prefer to express his dislike for Sasuke into a full blown bickering. The pinknette shook her head helplessly. Those two would never change. She tuned out the boys' continuous bicker and started healing Naruto. Most of the his critical wound had been partly healed so she did not have to do much.

Kakashi was still unconscious a few feet away. Leaving Naruto and Sasuke to continue their arguments, Sakura approached to the silver-haired man. Kakashi was not bleeding as much as Sasuke and Naruto but most of his injuries were internal. She performed a quick chakra scan and quickly worked on his crushed lungs. He started breathing normally two seconds later. Within a minute, he had opened his eyes and was sitting up with a hand massaging the bridge of his nose.

"Headache, Kakashi-Sensei?" Sakura gave him a sympathetic smile. Kakashi always had a headache whenever he was woken up by Naruto and Sasuke's bicker. It was something she could not fix since the headache was mostly because of his mental frustration.

He looked at her with a scrutinizing gaze before his eyes crinkled in a familiar harmless smile. "So you have returned."

The pinknette nodded, "I'm sorry for the trouble I have caused."

Kakashi sighed in frustration. "They have been at it nonstop," he referred to the bickering boys. Naruto was grabbing the front of Sasuke's shirt, both of their face was only a breath close. The stoic Uchiha only stared back emotionlessly, completely indifferent even though Naruto was thowing a fiery holler.

The argument ended when the young Uchiha said something that made Naruto froze and release his hold. Sasuke brushed imaginary dust from his bloodstained clothes and stalked towards Kakashi and Sakura like nothing happened. The whiskered blonde followed his friend grudgingly a few steps behind.

Sasuke stopped next to Sakura. He did not touch her, but Sakura knew that as soon as they were alone, he would make sure to renew their bonds. She shook her head to chase away that train of thought. Now was not the time to be thinking such things.

She looked at Naruto, Kakashi, and then finally Sasuke. The four of them were finally together again. Just like how it used to be.

"We have been staying here too long," Kakashi began to break the silence.

No one disagreed with him. The effects of their meddling in the area were too great. It was time to move to another city.

"You guys ready to go home?" asked Naruto, conjuring a black door out of nowhere. The door opened and revealed the alleyway in the fourth dimension.

"Hn," Sasuke voiced his agreement.

Sakura looked around her, her eyes glued to the space where the Haruno Residence had been. The Sun had almost set. The dusk brought an odd silence to the darkening meadow. She thought about the humans that had disappeared from the area. They were victims of her recklessness. Had she not been trying to run away from her past, would they got involved?

"Wait…," the words slipped out of her lips before she had actually thought about it.

The three men looked at her questioningly. Naruto was tilting his head to the side cutely. Kakashi was giving her another studious look. And Sasuke… Sasuke was frowning.

The pinknette decided that she needed to do it. Otherwise she could never let go of her short memories as Haruno Sakura.

Her life as Haruno Sakura was like a brief nap filled with sweet dream.

She had had parents that care for her.

She had gone to school.

She had made friends and had a crush on a cool Senior.

A reflection of a human life she had abandoned…. Long… long ago.

The pinknette clenched her eyes remorsefully, fisting her hands.

_No… there was no turning back. I regretted nothing._

However….

Sakura opened her eyes, the sea foam pupil hardened with determination. She looked at the onyx orb belonged to Uchiha Sasuke, her mate.

"Sasuke-kun, I… I have a request."

There were some things that might still not be too late to be undone.

* * *

_Konoha Academy for the Gifted, Classroom, Lunchtime_

Ino hated rainy days. Rainy days made her uncharacteristically mellow and subtle. She chewed silently on her fried tempura, looking outside the window as rain soaked the garden. Her sharp ears were tuned on, trying to catch snippets of the conversations around the room. After all, she was not the Gossip Queen for nothing.

So far the only news she had was how angry the school was for loosing the National Karate Championship for the third time in a row. Ino thought that was to be expected since that good for nothing Kinata Dosu was not doing so well as the Captain… he kept getting the team into disqualification. It was a wonder why he had been elected as the Captain for the second time in a row… aside from him having a brutal strength.

The blonde girl heard a sigh form her friend that sat in front of her. Hinata had not been touching her food at all. "Something wrong, Hinata?"

The Hyuga girl shook her head. "No, I was just thinking."

"Mm," the blonde frowned suspiciously. "You can talk to me, you know."

Hinata nodded.

The classroom door suddenly slid open and there was Inuzuka Kiba. "Hey, Hinata!" he yelled with his loud and obnoxious voice. "Somebody's looking for you!"

Hinata looked at him and saw TenTen standing beside the boy. The Chinese girl looked disheveled and lost. Their eyes met and Hinata suddenly understood that they were suffering from the same problem.

The Hyuga girl stood up and excused herself from Ino. She approached the pair at the door. "TenTen-Sempai, you wanted to talk to me?" she asked the Senior.

"May I have a minute?" asked TenTen uncertainly.

"O-of course."

TenTen nodded, "Let us go to the library."

Hinata excused herself from Ino and left the classroom with the senior. They were silent on the entire trip to the other end of the school, both trying to arrange what they were going to say.

The library was deserted like always. The lights were still on and the receptionist was dozing on and off in front of the computer screen.

TenTen lead them to one of the study desk near the window, "How about we talk here?"

Hinata nodded in agreement. "What is it that you want to talk to me, Sempai?"

TenTen shifted uncomfortably, her eyes darting from Hinata to the floor and back again. "Hinata, I know what I am going to ask is going to be weird…," she began slowly.

Hinata could already guess where the conversation was going.

TenTen shook her head to chase away her nervousness and squared her shoulders. She looked at the Hyuuga Heiress in the eye, "Do you remember having a cousin?"

That was it. TenTen remembered Neji also.

Hinata nodded solemnly, "Yes. I remembered Neji-nii-san."

TenTen's chocolate brown eyes lightened considerably and she looked livelier. "I knew it! I knew he exists! Where is he now, Hinata-chan? Why can't anyone remember him?"

Thoughts reeled in Hinata's mind. Why did she and TenTen remembered Neji? Why didn't anyone else?

"I don't remember anything except his name and his face," said TenTen desperately. "I can't recall where he live or if he had gone somewhere… I only knew he exist…. And that I… I…."

"TenTen-san," Hinata took hold of the Senior's hand in comfort. "I don't know where he is now," replied Hinata slowly. "But Sakura-chan might know something about it…."

"Sakura?" TenTen wiped the brimming tears in a hurry. "Is she your friend?"

"I… I'd like to think so," said Hinata absently, deep in thought. Apparently she was the only one who remembered Sakura. No one in her class remembered ever having a new student named Uchiha Sasuke either.

"Do you think this Sakura can help us find him? Can you introduce me to her, Hinata?" asked TenTen eagerly.

Hinata looked out side the window into the rainy park. "I don't know where she is, Tenten-san."

The rain kept pouring down the earth for a few days forth, as if it was mourning at the loss of a few innocent souls. Buried under the fallen cherry blossom petals in the Konoha Academy central park was a red chopstick, forgotten by its owner and friends.

* * *

_Konoha Academy for the Gifted, Rooftop. _

The view from the Konoha Academy had once been Sakura's favorite. However, now as she watched the city being covered with rain and mist she could feel nothing.

The gray sky rumbled with far off thunder and the rain was drenching her skin. Sakura did not mind the cold and depressing weather. On the contrary, cold and nothingness was exactly the mood that she had grown accustomed to. Coral colored locks was dangling in front of her sea foam eyes as she watched the students without umbrella dashing into the building.

Two firm arms suddenly entrapped her frame to the metal railing. "Is this what you want?" Sasuke whispered against her ear.

Sakura could not help but shudder. His voice was ice cold… colder than the weather, but it evoked burning emotions all over her body.

_Too long… It has been to long._

"…yes" she replied softly. Her eyes closed tightly and her fist clenched against the metal bar. Her body… was remembering. Her body was shivering with anticipation.

The arms closed around her frame, pulling her body against his hard chest. She gasped, feeling the electric shock going down her body. His body was bigger and stronger than hers. She enjoyed the feeling of being shielded from the world.

"Do you miss me … Sakura?" he drawled on her ears, teeth scraping her lobe that was stiff with cold.

She held back a moan. The pinknette lolled her head backwards against his shoulder. He mind was flashing with images… an old memory… so raw and dirty. "Sasuke…," she breathed meekly, overwhelmed with the cascading emotions.

"I'm going to have you." Sasuke was smirking against her temple, she could feel it. His right hand slipped underneath her shirt and continued towards her firm breasts. He did not squeeze them directly, but his long fingers were teasing her hardening nipple with feather-like touch.

She could not help but whimpered pleadingly, "…Sasuke-kun." Her breath started to come out with hot pants, mingling with the cold air and forming puffs of mist.

His other hand trailed up her things and teased the bare and sensitive skin underneath her uniform skirt. "You are mine, Sakura." He kissed her neck, biting the clammy skin and tending the bruise with swirling tongue… over and over.

Sakura was starting to feel dizzy. She clenched her thighs together, feeling the growing arousal. The rain was colder against her skin, teasing her heightened sense mercilessly. "Sasuke-kun...," she pleaded again.

_Please don't tease me…_

Her hand shot up to his shoulder, gripping his pale skin, slippery with rain. Her reminiscing fingers slipped underneath his wide collar, searching the base of his neck.

_The seal… the cursed seal…._

She found what she was looking for and he let out a rough groan.

Sasuke spun her around briskly, her hip hit the metal bars with force but Sakura barely noticed because he had crushed his mouth with hers in a raw kiss. She opened her mouth readily, moaning wantonly as his tongue explored every corner her mouth, reclaiming what was his.

Without parting from her lips, he lifted her frame so she was sitting on the rail. His impatient hands pushed both of her knees apart, not caring that he was being rough, and then grinded his arousal against her core.

Sakura reacted with a choked moan, unintentionally biting his tongue.

The pain only spurred his lust further. He dragged his hand towards her nape, roughly pulling her head backwards and started attacking her neck.

The rain was falling hard on her face, forcing her to close her eyes. She could only moan helplessly, feeling at his mercy. He was being extra rough, but that did not mean that she did not like it.

_Make me feel…_

His right hand was travelling up and down her thigh before slipping further underneath her skirt. Sakura's eyes snapped opened, her hands clutching his shoulder as she realized what was going to happen. "Sasu-,"

Sasuke quickly pulled her panties apart and jabbed his two icy wet fingers into her opening, swirling the hot wetness immediately. His fingers pumped in and out, rain mixing with her cum.

The pinknette cried out his name hoarsely, throwing back her head. Sakura raised one hand to muffle another scream that tore out from her.

_'We're still on the top of the school!'_ She subconsciously reminded herself. Few floors below them, Kurenai-sensei was probably still giving her Geometry lecture.

"…Sasuke! Not here… Ah—," she gasped, going crimson in the face. But Sasuke didn't stop. It has been too long since he could be with her like this. He was not about to let anything stop him. He quickened the pace of his fingers; his thumb touched her jewel and rubbed them with swirling motion.

"…please—" Sakura gasped, fighting to keep her head clear. But the reeling lust and his talented fingers just made her want to give in. "Sasuke-kun…" she was getting wetter as her orgasm neared, thanks to Sasuke's aggressiveness.

"Please, no…."

He grunted against her shoulder and reluctantly pulled away. Both of his hands left her body and gripped the metal bars on either side of her frame tightly. His mouth sought hers in a rough and bruising kiss, as if he was trying to punish her for denying his pleasure.

Sakura retuned his vigor with a sweet apologetic kiss, trying to calm both of their raging emotions. She felt somehow relived and a little disappointed. No matter… from now on they would have plenty of time.

When she ended the kiss ended with a soft peck on the lips, both of them was already breathing normally. She leaned her forehead against his. "Sasuke," she started hoarsely, "I'm glad I—"

He pulled back and shook his head.

Sakura sighed and nodded. Heartfelt conversations had never been their thing. They made Sasuke uncomfortable and Sakura just never knew how to voice her often mixed emotions. From the very start, their relationship was very physical. A closer presence. A calm brush of hand. Desperate embraces. Apologetic kisses. Angry sex.

"Let's hurry back," he said tonelessly, onyx eyes watching the gray sky with a far off look.

"Yes," Sakura slipped off the metal railings, smiling a tender smile for her mate although he could not see it. Her hand reached for his, "Let's go home."

_I don't want us to be separated._

_Never… never ever._

* * *

_Cascading memories… the recollection of my soul..._

_A perpetual dream… trapped between the hands of time…_

_That long… long memory of a dream_

_When did it all begin?_

* * *

**To be continued**

Grammatics Edit: 14 April 2008

* * *

Note:Finally I have time to edit this chapter. The change will be mostly unnoticeable, but it's better than nothing. I know 'pinknette' is not an actual word... but that just suited Sakura so well I have to use it. Hahahha.

Word count: Appx. 9100 words.. wow... I broke my own record. I hope this will get me even with my slow update.

I can't promise to update more frequently, but I can promise to update as soon as I can. Especially since my midterm will be held next week. Gakh... my brain still refused to study...

Please stop by the **"Frequently Asked Questions"** section in my profile if you are interested in what I have to say. You might find answers to your questions there.

Don't forget to **REVIEW**!


	5. Interlude: Trails of Nightmares

**.::Disclaimer::.** Naruto and all related characters are copyrighted to Masashi Kishimoto.

**.::Note::.** Yeah, I finally updated! I'm sorry for the long… long… wait. Guess what? The suspense is back!

**.::Thanks::. **For all my reviewers and readers who have sticked with me even though I updated much slower than a snail.

* * *

~*~

_I wish I can say that my life is better now._

_Sasuke and I have had our revenge… but all it left me is emptiness._

_Like this world we are living in… all white and vacant._

_It's kind of like a nightmare,_

_The kind that has no monsters or ghosts, or evil under your bed,_

… _just you and your fear._

_The thing is, I don't regret living this nightmare one bit,_

_I know Sasuke doesn't either._

~*~

* * *

**.::Dusk::.**

**Interlude: Trails of Nightmares**

**

* * *

**_Konoha City – Kanzakigawa Trading Tower, 40th floor_

It must have been the tenth times that President Director Takeshi Kanzakigawa looked over his shoulder that night. However, no matter how many times he looked, the dark empty sky beyond the vast glass windows stays the same. It was nighttime, the moon was nonexistent so the stars seized the black stage, twinkling brightly.

The 55 years old man with a beer belly swore he felt someone watching him from behind. Although his logical mind kept telling him that it was impossible. Who can spy on your back all the way up the fortieth floor building?

Again, he felt the chills and looked over his shoulder.

Same empty sky, but then a dark reflection suddenly appeared on the glass window. His breath hitched and he swiveled his chair abruptly. He found a dark haired young man standing in front of the door directly across him. Pale skinned. Dark crimson eyes piercing him like a hunter. Kanzakigawa's instinct immediately knew that the young man was dangerous. "W-who are you?" he demanded shakily.

The young man grunted his voice rich and deep. "I knew what you did earlier this evening."

Takeshi Kanzakigawa's dark chocolate eyes widened. His mind involuntarily jerked back and memories flashed back behind his eyes.

A hotel room and a bottle of champagne.

A dead girl with long dark hair and skimpy clothing.

Kanzakigawa remembered his overwhelming anger,

… and the blood on his hands.

The President Director stood from his chair and made few steps backwards. "P-p-police? A-are you going to arrest me?"

"Hn," the young man stepped forward, his piercing glare never wavers.

Kanzakigawa started sweating in his anxiety, he panted and his heart thudded loudly. "P-please! I didn't mean to hurt her!"

The young man stopped, frowning at the middle aged man.

Kanzakigawa's mind rushed as he thought he saw hesitation in the young man's pale face. "I-I'll give you anything! What do you want? Money? Diamonds? Just named it, I have plenty of them!"

The corner of the young man's lips lifted slightly in a cold smile. "Those things will give no benefit for me." Like a lightning, suddenly the young man was in front of him. His pale hand gripping Kanzakigawa's neck in a vice, almost choking, grip. The crimson eyes were glaring down at him with full intensity. "It's too late for you now," the young man stated tonelessly.

Kanzakigawa did not even have the chance to scream before there was a sudden pain through his body. He looked down and saw a silver katana had run through his gut. "W-why?" he choked before his body dissipates into a whiff of silver dust. A white radiant globe of light was left floating in place of his destroyed body.

The young man cupped the light and drank the substance.

Slowly, with a faded in effect, the room was changing its environment. The deep red curtains became dusty brown. The computer on the desk flickered and disappeared. Deep layers of dust covered the beige carpet, appearing out of no where. The walls cracked and looks rotten. Before long, the sophisticated office had turned into a dusty bed room that haven't been in use for years. One could never guess that the room had once belonged to a well-known business company in Konoha City.

The young man watched the changes with disinterest.

"Must you do it in such a painful way?" a light feminine voice chided softly form his right.

The young man turned, his eyes had changed back to its original obsidian color. "He deserved it," he replied coldly, not a hint of regret in his voice.

A petite pink haired girl with teal green eyes stepped forward from the dark corner of the room. "Sasuke-kun," she sighed, somewhat sadly.

"He's just a human, Sakura."

The pinknette shook her head. _'We used to be humans…,'_ her thoughts remained unspoken.

Sasuke gave a disapproving frown and advanced towards the girl until he was standing directly in front of her. "You should eat some, too. When was your last meal?"

Sakura diverted her eyes to the side, refusing to look upon his incisive glare. "Three… days ago. She was in so much pain.. so I…."

He narrowed his gaze, "You haven't eaten since that dying girl in the hospital?"

Sakura hung her head forward, ashamed, "I'm sorry."

She knew she was starving herself and it was not good for her stability. On top of that, she only ate dying souls; definitely not a good diet. Her condition now was no better than before. She was deteriorating. She could feel it.

But... she could not do it. She could never gather enough guts to pick her victims; never to those bright and innocent souls. She thought about what great things those souls could be destined to do. No matter what she told herself, she could not eat those peoples.

Sasuke gripped the pinknette's upper hand and dragged her away from the room , "Let's go, you need to eat."

The girl's mystifying green eyes widened in fear. "Sasuke, no! I… I'm not that hungry."

His control slipped and he slammed her against the wall beside the door."I won't have you disappearing on me again!" he glared down to her, eyes swirling red.

_Sasuke… _

The tainted soul he had just eaten had started to show its negative effect on him. He was on his edge. Easily tipped. Sakura could literally see the dark thoughts that was spinning inside his head. However... behind the anger, the fury, she could see his anxiety.

He was worried, worried for her. For her.

Oh, she was such a _fool_.

"I'm sorry," Sakura whispered breathily.

How could she forget all those things he had done for her? He had sacrificed everything. _Everything_.

'_For me….'_

She gripped his shirt tucking him forward. Her lips grazed his chapped ones gently, "I'll go find someone tomorrow… promise."

She will. She will do it for him.

"Tomorrow," she kissed him again softly, tenderly. "But for now, let's just go home."

He looked torn for she was gazing up to him with pleading eyes.

She pressed another kiss, a demanding one. There was barely any space left between them. The tension was strong and Sakura could feel her body reacted delightfully with his close proximity. Her teeth chewed his lower lips. "Sasuke-kun," she said his name in a tone she knew he could not resist.

"Fuck!" the Uchiha growled in surrender. His hand fisted her pink tresses, tilling her head upward and kissing her roughly. She moaned and opened her mouth involuntarily. He wasted no time to jam his tongue in, exploring thoroughly.

She almost screamed in disappointment when he wrenched his mouth away from hers and started nibbling the side of her neck. He body was panting and shaking with waves of wanton desire.

"You better keep that promise, Sakura," he drawled, pressing his lips to her ear.

Still a little disoriented, the pinknette affirmed wordlessly, "Uhn."

"Good," the young man pulled away. "Let's go back."

Sakura nodded.

Sasuke lifted his hand and opened a dark portal right behind the pinknette. The two of them then stumbled into the shadows and left the now empty office building.

* * *

_The White World , Home_

When Sasuke and Sakura got home, they were greeted by a grinning Naruto who was sitting by the fireplace eating and instant cup noodles, slurping loudly and messily.

Inwardly, Sakura winced. "Naruto, eat _civilly_!" she scolded the blonde.

She could never understand Naruto's fascination with those ramen. Devourers gained nothing from eating human food, although some of them did consume the foods because it was a reminder of the past… or what they used to be.

"So, did you enjoy your meal?" the blonde ignored the pinknette's advice, grinning widely. He looked like he was in bliss.

"Hn," replied Sasuke briefly before retreating to the back of the house, possibly looking for Kakashi to have their usual evening spar.

Sakura moved closer to the fire and sat on the couch beside Naruto. "He ate a _Negative_ again," she informed the blonde, trying to explain Sasuke's sullen behavior.

Naruto frowned. "Again? You should chew him, Sakura-chan, not me! Eating a _Negative_ will like, guaranteed you a PMS for the rest of the week!"

Sakuran offered a smile, "It's his choice. We all have favorites, right?" she gestured to his cup of instant noodles.

Naruto looked to his cup of ramen, shrugged, before continued slurping. "You too, Sakura-chan!" he exclaimed with mouthful of noodles. "You only eat a _Dimmed_! No wonder you are always sick and Teme always acted like a bitch."

A kunai flew into the room in fast speed before embedding itself in Naruto's half-eaten ramen cup. Hot ramen soup poured down to the blonde's lap. Naruto yelped and stood up. "Teme!!" he cursed, before running out side to challenge a certain Uchiha into a death battle.

Sakura gave a long sigh and shook her head. Slowly, a small smile tugged the corner of her lips.

A tender, but somehow sad smile.

_Home sweet home._

_

* * *

The White World, the next morning_

A ray of light filtered through the gap of the curtains. Sea-foam green eyes squinted at the brightness, but Sakura made no attempts to roll over from her position on the bed. Instead, she looked passively to the empty whiteness outside.

A white world of perpetual emptiness …this was where she belongs. This was where a sinner belongs.

She had been reminded again, just last night, that her human life was once again far-far away. Faded, like a washed out photograph. Somehow… she did not really mind. She did not even miss it… just a dull longing deep in the corner of her long-lost heart.

Strong masculine arms slipped around her waist and pulled her frame back towards a hard chest.

'Cold,' she thought. But the fire in her heart slowly crackled, spreading warmth. She closed her eyes and leaned back to him, relishing in his possessive embrace. She felt safe and protected.

"What are you thinking about?" he whispered huskily to her ear, teeth grazing the sensitive lobe. His velvety voice always had the same effects to her. She shuddered as a jolt of heat shook her body.

"Sasuke-kun," the pinknette whispered, half -moaning half-sighing. Her hands sought his upon her stomach. "I was just," she stopped mid-sentence, thinking about how she could voice her thoughts. "How long has it been… since that day?"

He pulled away as she rolled on her back. He moved on top of her, arms propped on his elbows on either side of her head. He peered down to her with dark midnight eyes, devoid of emotions. She looked up to him as he studied her face.

The white sheet protected their naked bodies from the rest of the world. Light had filled the room and she could see his pale white skin and ebony locks perfectly framing his face. They had been together for a long time, but still her heart twisted in wonder for she had never met a man as beautiful as him.

"You've been dreaming…," he spoke tonelessly, a mere observation rather than an answer to her question.

The pinknette nodded. "How long has it been?" she repeated.

He sighed, a clear sign of irritation. "…a little over sixty years," he replied stonily like it was nothing. His irritation was more for her angst.

Sakura nodded. "I don't remember the exact time anymore…. It seemed so long ago."

"Aa."

The pinknette turned her gaze back to the empty whiteness outside the window. "Last night… my dream… It was not as clear as it used to be."

He did not reply, but she was used to his lack of respond. He had always been that way.

"Do you still think… about that day?" she began dazedly, eyes dull, as her mind was sucked back in time.

"Never," he replied. Sasuke never regretted leaving his human life. He was more than glad to have severed those ties… that day when both of them died as human.

She wished she could say the same for herself.

Sakura turned her gaze back into his stony black eyes. Slowly, he leaned forward until the crook of his nose was against her pale neck.

Sakura shivered. Her pale slender arms automatically slid up to his shoulders and encircled his neck. "Sasuke-kun?" Her body was already responding to his closeness. Skin upon skin. Legs entangled.

She felt him smirking on the side of her neck. One of his hands pinned her right one above her head, his other hand crept up her side, brushing her curves.

"Again?" she asked breathlessly, arching forward when he roughly nip the sensitive spot on her collarbone.

"Hn," he gave another smirk.

…and the rest is a blur of swirling dark red passion.

* * *

_~*~_

_I may not remember exactly how I become a Devourer,_

…_but I will always remember why I choose to be like this._

_Sasuke-kun and I had met the Devil,_

_Then we became the Sinner._

_Because it's the only way we can be together._

_~*~  
_

* * *

**.::To be continued::.**

* * *

**.::End note::.**

I know, a short one. Actually I wrote this while being stuck with Chapter 4. So I posted it because I think it already has enough material to be a small interlude.

I am still working for my mini-thesis because my graduation plan has to be moved to October 2009. This means that this fanfiction will not be on my priority list for a long time. On the other hand, it had spare me some free time and I don't have to work like crazy anymore. Who knows, maybe I will have more time to write now that the pressure has lessened a little.

Anyway… does anyone got sick of reading too much vampire flicks lately? Not just in this Naruto fandom, but in others also. I'm getting really, really, bored with the theme… so bored that I almost lose interest in continuing this story (because of the supernatural theme). But I have cooked and wrote the receipt for this story very painstakingly and I'm just too stubborn to give up. Hahaha. So wish me luck!

I am planning to update on New Year's Eve! That'd be exactly one year anniversary for this story. So don't forget to say happy birthday to this story next update, ok? (just kidding…)

Sorry for ranting… just haven't write to you guys for months. I have so many things I want to tell. Hehe.

**REVIEW!**

(show your love to Sasusaku and review!)


	6. Ripples

Disclaimer: Naruto and all related properties belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, I'm just borrowing characters. Ending poem copyrighted to Squaresoft.

I'm sorry it's late… This was supposed to be out two days ago, but new years had been hectic, and I haven't got time to proof read this. But better be late than no update at all, right? Heheheh. (I'm defending myself, sue me.)

For those who are intrigued by Sasuke and Sakura's past, it will be revealed in this arc (Arc II) starting from this chapter. Think of it like a flash back. A three or four chapters worth of flashback, I haven't decided yet, depending on the word count. Let's just hope my plot bunny is not going to wander off again.

So enjoy… and behold the birth of Fan-girl Sakura! (insert evil laugh)

* * *

_When I met you,_

_I did not realize that you are that drop of water on a pond that is my life._

_But, when I finally knew,_

_I am glad that I had met you._

…_even though our meeting has caused my death._

_

* * *

_**Dusk**

**2nd Arc  
**

**Chapter 4: Ripples**

**

* * *

**

**Japan, 60 years ago**

* * *

_Agarikiri Train Station, Saturday evening_

Two thousand four hundred and seventy five yen.

It was two thousand four hundred and seventy five bloody yen just for a two hour carriage ride from Yokogawa Sea Port to Agarikiri Train Station.

Sakura fished the correct amount of money from her tattered leather wallet and gave it grudgingly to the chauffeur. She had a strong feeling of being fooled. The chauffeur must have thought that she was a foreigner and thus he had given her a higher fare than normal. Sometimes the pinknette wished that she looked more like her Japanese mother than her Irish father.

Barely three hours following her arrival at her mother's home country, Sakura already had tons of annoying experience. When she arrived at Yokogawa port, her luggage had almost been stolen. And then, she had a fight in the immigration office because they were doubtful about her maternal lineage. Her weird accented Japanese did little to convince the officers and she had no choice but showing them her mother's old Geisha license seal (thank God she had brought it along). As if it was not enough, the only indiscriminative carriage chauffeur (at least she thought he was indiscriminate) that was willing to transport her 'foreign' ass was a greedy fiend. Sakura kind of wished she had chosen to rent a car instead.

Not bothering to say thanks to the annoying driver, Sakura hauled her heavy trunk out of the carriage and walked away with her head high, taking haughty steps across the street, and continuing towards Agarikiri Train Station. However, it seemed that her torment was nowhere near over.

When Sakura passed the main gate, her proud steps halted abruptly. Stunned in disbelief, her teal green eyes widened and then blinked once… twice. Even though Sakura understood that Shinkansen Train Network is one of Japan's most prideful possessions, she was completely unprepared by the amount of people overcrowding the train station.

Not knowing anything else to do, the pinknette let out a long heavy sigh.

And here she thought she had escaped London Transport.

A scrawny man bumped into her and shouted something in Japanese that she was not familiar with, which was probably a good thing, since what he had said could not be pretty. Sakura mumbled a quiet apology but the angry man had staggered away from her. Probably drunk.

_Hmph_. It seemed that war had made the country more skeptical than open to the outside world.

As for standing in the middle of the front gate was not a good idea, Sakura adjusted her hold on her trunk and continued her path towards platform seven, where her train to Hinoiri-gakure will be stationed. From the corner of her eyes she could see the ticket box was overflowed with soon-to-be-passengers. Inwardly she thanked her father for buying her tickets prior to her departure.

The thought of her father made her flatter in her steps. In a flash, she remembered the reason why she had to leave London. She remembered his helpless green eyes, saying sorry to her again and again. Her mother had died, and there was nothing her father could do to protect her from the sinister of English noble house; except sending her to her mother's home country. Alone.

Sakura shook her head to chase away the depressing thought.

Despite her hard time reading and following the correct signs, the pinknette finally found her train. She directly boarded the steel snake. It quickly came to her that finding an empty compartment would not be easy. The train was fully packed. People were shouting either in anger or in panic. Children and babies were crying for their parents. It was like a riot.

Sakura held her heavy trunk to her chest, fearing she might lose it while making her way through masses of people. The trunk was her life. All her money and her mother's memento were inside the leather suitcase, not to mention the address for which she was going to stay in Hinoiri-gakure.

Shouldering and shoveling her way through the sea of people, Sakura made her way towards the end of the train, hoping she can still find an empty seat. Guess what? She could not find any. Well, not exactly. There was one compartment which was occupied by three young men and they had given her large lecherous grins. She bolted away from that compartment in matter of seconds.

By the time she reached the end of the train, she was sweating slightly and her toe throbbed from being stepped on over and over. She could see four compartments, three which had their doors opened. The first and second compartment to her left and right was full with families and their enormous luggage, in size and number. The other one on the far left was out of order, the door was closed.

_Great, _inner Sakura muttered skeptically.

Sakura hoped that the last opened compartment will still have seat for her. With heavy steps, she approached the door like she was facing a death penalty.

Well… Let's just say that Lady Luck had not turned her back on the pinknette just yet.

The compartment was smaller than the others she had seen, and _almost_ empty. A young raven haired man sat at the end. Sakura cannot see his face because of long bangs framing his face, and he had his head turned towards the outside, through a large glass window. The pinknette presumed he was around her age, judging from his posture. He was lean and tall, his hair black as midnight with a tint of navy blue, combed to the back of his head. His muscles had not yet been fully developed, but they were present, she could see them stretching the long dark coat that was wrapped comfortably around his body. Eighteen or nineteen years old, she guessed. He was probably two or three years older than herself.

"Uhm…," Sakura hummed, deciding to make her presence known in what she hoped the most non-intruding way.

The young man did not turn or even moved.

_Asleep…? _Sakura sighed in relief, her inner shrugged inwardly. At least he was not as frightening as the other three men few compartments away.

The pinknette stepped into the compartment just as the train gave its fist shriek of whistle, indicating that the engine was ready to go. Sakura scanned the small booth, looking for a place to load her luggage. There were shelves above two couches facing each other. The young man sat the left side; beside him laid a small black suitcase. He did not appear to have any other things with him.

Sakura took more steps into the compartment, deciding to put her luggage in the right top shelf, across the young man. She still could not see his face but that did not matter. She did not want to disturb his possible slumber. The pinknette turned her back towards him and heaved her luggage to the top shelf, cursing inwardly because of the heaviness. The weight almost made her loose balance, but she managed to keep her stand. Her luggage touched the lip of the shelf and Sakura pushed hard. She pulled away to admire her work. The pinknette smiled in satisfaction, slapping her hands together to rid of imaginary dust.

But just when she thought that crisis was over, the train gave a loud shriek and jerked forward, throwing the pinknette completely off her already compromised balance…

… and straight to the stranger's lap.

She screamed spontaneously.

He yelped at the sudden extra weight.

Inner Sakura was in daze because she was not prepared to feel such hard muscles on such lean looking young man. _Damn._

_Yummy… to be exact_, another (new) voice inside her whispered dreamily.

Outer Sakura ignored the two bickering voices in her mind. She looked up, her head that had landed on his chest tilted backwards.

Pale complexion and glaring onyx eyes… oh, he was good-looking alright.

"Get off me," he growled lowly in Japanese.

"Sorry!" she cried out in panic and scrambled to her feet. She immediately loose her balance again and landed hard onto the other seat across the room. She was now directly in front of him. Her eyes were opened wide and she was panting for no reason at all. Her right hand gripped her chest, trying to calm her heart.

He was glaring at her, clearly not happy that she had disturbed his nap.

"I'm really sorry!" she repeated again this time in Japanese. "I was just putting my bag up here but the train suddenly moved… I lost my balance."

His glare softened a little as his eyes studied her frame. She felt like he was judging her for honesty.

"Uhm…," she began, feeling uncomfortable from his peering gaze. "Are you okay? Did… did I hurt you?"

"Hn," he finally ceased glaring at her and his facade shifted into a bored expression. He moved to adjust his seat; the stranger pulled a book from his suitcase and started reading quietly.

The train jerked again and started departing from the station. Sakura held on to her seat for dear life. She swore she heard him snorted at her reaction. Her green eyes hardened, shining in annoyance. He was rude and had an air of aristocracy that made Sakura scowled inwardly. Great, she had just left a country full of noble bollocks, and here she was stuck with another one.

She wondered what his name was.

Her green eyes studied his lean form. He had a stoic manner that made him looked like he had given up all emotions. Staring at him openly, she knew she was being uncouth, but she was always more of a commoner than a noblewoman despite her paternal lineage.

He must have felt her eyes because he put down his book and met her gaze. "What?" he asked curtly.

"Must you be so rude?" she asked just as crudely.

"Hn," he grunted in reply.

_What was that supposed to mean?_

Not that Sakura really cared.

She leaned back into her seat, slouching. "We're stuck here together for another ten hours, you know. I really hoped we can be a pleasant companion to each other."

He said nothing to that and returned to his book.

Sakura sighed. "At least a name would be nice," she muttered lowly, meaning to say it only for herself.

"Uchiha Sasuke," he replied tonelessly without moving his eyes from the book.

The pinknette blinked in shock. She did not expect him to reply to her vocal musings. It took her awhile to recover but when she did, a smile was growing on her face.

_May be he was not a bad companion after all._

"Hi, my name is Sakura," she said warmly offering her right hand for him to shake.

He gave no indication to return her gesture.

Sakura titled her head. _So much for a friendly companion…. _

Retracing her hand, she smiled teasingly, "… and you should shake the hands of someone who introduced herself to you, Sasuke-kun."

Well, if he would not be the companion she hoped for, she can still annoy the hell out of him.

He put down his book again and gave her a pointed look.

Sakura sighed. He was rude all right, but at least he was neither cruel nor falsehearted. On the contrary, she had a feeling that he was always brutally honest with his opinions. "I regret falling onto you… at least tell me you are okay," she said kindly, as a peace offering.

He spared her a sideway glance, "You're heavy… and annoying."

Did he just…?

No, she must have heard wrong.

But dammit, her Japanese was not _that_ bad!

Inner Sakura burned in fury from his little comment. She had tried to apologize and be friendly, but all he did was insulting her. Against her better judgment, she stood up (pretty unsteadily because the train was still moving), both hands on her waist, glaring down at him furiously. "Lookie here, mister! I don't know who do you think you are, but you should know that having an ego bigger than the prince of England was not impressive at all—_eeyaaah_!!"

The train jerked again, and this time she fell forward. She screamed, arms flailing. Her hands clawed the front of his coat for dear life, but she slipped and could prevent her face from bumping directly with a certain part between his thighs.

Two things registered into her shocked mind at once; One, she was kissing his _crotch_. And two, he was hard... and he was _big_.

Sakura froze._ Oh my God._

All anger left her body and was replaced by a full unadulterated embarrassment. Her face flushed red. She moved, trying to get off him, but his hand shot up and held the back of her head. He pulled her away from between his legs and tilled her head so she could see his face.

Her eyes widened, green eyes looking at him frantically, fearfully.

_He was going to kill us,_ Inner Sakura lamented the end of her life.

_No, he was going to kiss us!_ The other inner Sakura squealed fan-girlishly (and thus Inner and Outer Sakura named her Fan-girl Sakura).

Slowly, like melting ice, his impassive face grew a devilish smirk. He pulled her up until their faces were barely an inch apart. "You should be careful," he spoke calmly, almost icily if not for his burning eyes, "before you fell on me again …Sakura."

Sakura gulped, "Ah…."

He smirked to show his satisfaction and released her from his arms.

Sakura gathered herself and quickly scrambled back to her own seat, buckling the seat belt. All the while, she was still giving him death glare. _How dare him!_

He met her piercing glare with amusement in his eyes.

Not able to hold on his intense gaze, it was now her turn to look outside the window. She refused to acknowledge his presence.

_Damn that Uchiha._

He had said her name, and her body shivered in delight.

_No!_ Sakura clenched her eyes to shake away the thoughts. Focus on the scenery! The scenery only! Where there were houses, and streets, and tall buildings!

To Sakura's relief (and Fan-girl Sakura's disappointment), it was not long before Sasuke ceased his amused observation and quietly returned to his book.

The pinknette sighed inwardly and relaxed a little. Without his peering gaze, she could focus her attention towards the moving city. Japan was indeed different from her London. The houses were different, even the street lamps were different. This was the city of Agarikiri… how does Hinoiri-gakure look like?

Sakura risked a glance towards the young Uchiha. She wondered if Sasuke's destination was the same as hers.

Time passed and two of them sat there quietly, trying to ignore the others' existence. At least the pinknette was trying to do so. Sasuke, on the other hand, was completely ingested with his book.

The Sun had set. Dusk came with a merge of pink and blue over the horizon. The view outside the window had become dark and boring. The train had left the city into a wide plain of grasslands. Looking out to the full strawberry moon in the night sky, Sakura felt her eyes getting heavier. Before she realized anything else, she had fallen asleep.

By the time she woke up, the train had stopped at Hinoiri-gakure station …and Sasuke was nowhere to be seen. The only prove that he was not just her imagination was her trunk that was safely placed on the floor by her feet. A small yellow note was on it:

_Sakura,_

_You slept like the dead. Be more careful around strangers._

_- Uchiha S._

_

* * *

Three weeks later, Sunday afternoon, Hinoiri General Hospital _

Hinoiri-gakure was a calm settlement on the country side. It had many small hospitals and sanatorium, where all recovering soldiers of war had been transferred from the hospital in the main cities. This was a city where they all heal.

Sakura now lived in a church at the far west slum of Hinoiri-gakure. The priest that took care of the church had been a friend of her father during his time in the military. He was a kind middle aged priest; his church had been temporarily morphed into a shelter for the homeless because of the upcoming winter.

People suffered from the long term war, Sakura thought London had been bad, but it soon came to her that more and more homeless drifted to Hinoiri-gakure. The pinknette had never seen so many orphaned children before. She did not understand at first, but one woman that now lived in the church had told her that they all came because rumors had told them they will find shelter, and the food was cheaper.

Sakura understood now why her father had sent her to this city. It was only natural that she found work in one of the small clinic in the center of the city. She was familiar with the job, a medic helper, whose job was everything from assisting the doctors and nurses to washing clothes and bed sheets. She could not diagnose diseases or prescribe medications, because she lacked the skill and education, but she can help to take care of the sick.

It felt good to help and be needed. The senior doctor she was helping, Tsunade, was very kindhearted and taught her many things. Tsunade was a busty golden haired woman who had a temper and drinking problem, but she was also a miracle worker and very motherly. Tsunade liked to tick off her apprentice, Shizune, a lean black haired young woman who had became Sakura's friend in matter of minutes.

Settling down in a new home, working a double shift job that she loved, and taking care of the people who seek shelter in the church had taken a lot out of Sakura. Sakura was strangely glad that she was busy. It was better than being useless. When the weekends came, she was usually grocery shopping downtown and borrowing some medical and children books from the central library for the kids at home. All thoughts about dark enigmatic hottie had been pushed to the far corner of her mind.

Humming softly, Sakura adjusted her grip on the five hundred pages hard cover books and a bag full of apples while heading home one afternoon. She had done some shopping and book hunting in the Central Library. She carried the books under her right armpits while the tall paper bag full of apples was hugged to her chest. Being the short girl she was, she had some trouble looking where she was going. But she had always carried things that way and nothing ever happened before.

Apparently, that did not seem to be the way this time. Sakura practically did not see _somebody_ who came walking from around the corner.

The impact came fast. She slammed hard and straight against a chest (male because it was plane and solid), the momentum threw her backwards, her bum hit the ground painfully. She lost her grip on her heavy books. The apples were scattered around the scene, rolling off to the corner of the street.

"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" she blurted out frantically, still a little disoriented. Poor guy, being hit by a dozen of flying apples must have hurt a lot.

The stranger cursed lowly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you there! Are you hurt?" finally Sakura stopped seeing stars and looked up to face her victim. She froze upon seeing his familiar face, "Sasuke-kun?!"

He glared at her, clearly annoyed. She was sitting on one of his outstretched calf in an uncomfortable position. "Get off me, Sakura."

"Ehehehe," she let out a nervous smile, rolling sideways to get off him as he requested. "We meet again," she offered awkwardly.

Strangely, she missed him; him and his broody mood. It was weird. He did nothing but insulted and ignored her the last time she met, but his face refused to leave her mind. Pushed to the corner, yes, but never completely gone. She usually think of him at the end of the day, when she was already half asleep, tucked under the warm blanket in her small room.

"Sasuke-sama, are you alright?" an edgy feminine voice interrupted Sakura's inner musings. The pinknette looked to Sasuke's side and realized that there was a long red haired female in elegant orange kimono that was helping the Uchiha stood up.

"I'm fine," replied Sasuke, dusting his slightly dirty pants.

When the other girl looked up and meet Sakura's gaze, the pinknette could not help but gasped. "Oh, you are so pretty!" she exclaimed, a little shamelessly.

And the red head _was_ pretty. The girl stood up with an air of elegance and had piercing burgundy eyes. She was clearly a lady, daughter of someone important in the society.

"Are you Sasuke-kun's friend?" Sakura asked again, seeing none of the two had replied to her statement.

Sasuke flinched.

Sakura blinked. _What? Was it wrong to compliment somebody?_

The red head narrowed her eyes analytically, "Sasuke-sama, you know this girl?"

Was that hostility? Surely not, they had just met.

Sakura ignored the uneasy feelings and gave a teasing grin. "We met on the train three weeks ago, he was so rude that I can't help but remember him."

The pinknette thought Sasuke would glare, but instead, he gave his own devilish smirk. "Last time I checked, you are the one who fell on me… thrice."

Sakura could not help but blush prettily, remembering the last time he had given her that certain devilish smirk. "It was an accident! And I said sorry, didn't I?!"

"Hn," Sasuke grunted in reply.

The red haired girl frowned, "I'm sorry that he had given you trouble, but Sasuke-sama is the heir of the Uchiha Clan, it was his duty to act like that."

Sakura blinked and titled her head sideways, "Huh? Why are you saying sorry?"

"I'm Karin Hanaka. Sasuke-sama and I are betrothed."

_Betrothed?_

"Oh… I see." Sakura smiled, a little awkwardly. God, she had just insulted Sasuke in front of his fiancé. "My name is Sakura. I'm sorry for interrupting your date, Karin-san."

Karin smiled back elegantly, coldly. "I prefer Karin-sama, if you will, Sakura-san."

_Superior suffix? Is she a princess or something?_ Inner Sakura was an inch away from blowing up. Fan-girl Sakura was throwing a tantrum.

Awkward silence.

"Well… uhm…," Sakura held back the reaction to scratch the back of her head. She refused to act more uncouth in front of a Lady. "I'll just pick up these apples and go away, then."

Surprisingly, Sasuke bent over and started picking up some apples. Sakura gave him a grateful smile, bending over herself and started gathering her belongings. Karin stood awkwardly for a few minute before she, too, helped the pinknette clean up the mess.

When Sakura had all her books and apples back in her hands, she straightened up, patting her beige skirt that was a little dirty. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun!" she smiled again.

"Hn," he grunted, dismissing her thanks.

The pinknette sighed. _He was hopeless, _Inner Sakura commented.

Sakura turned to Karin, "Well, I better get going. It's nice meeting you and Karin-sama. If you have time, you can stop by the St. Jeanne Church, that's where I live."

"Thank you for your offer, Sakura-san," the red head replied, but it was certain that she would never even consider the offer.

Sakura nodded. "Good day, Sasuke-kun, Karin-san," she bid goodbye, waving her hand while walking backwards. She almost tripped and Sasuke snorted at her. She gave him a piercing glare, swiveling on her heels and walked away with haughty steps.

When she was a few blocks away from the couples, her proud steps faltered.

_Sasuke was taken,_ Inner Sakura felt a distant twinge if disappointment while Fan-girl Sakura was crying her hearts out.

Why did she feel like this? It was not like she was attracted to him …was she?

* * *

_Saint Jeanne Catholic Church, later that evening_

Sakura could not believe it! She had lost her mother's locket!

The pinknette paced circles in her small candle-lit room (the sun had set). One hand was underneath her chin, the other was on her waist. The way she was acting was nowhere near ladylike, but for the moment the girl could care less. Her mother's locket was one of her most prized possession; it was irreplaceable, far more important than the single emerald ring that was given by her father in case she was short on money.

When was it? She still had it on her that morning; she made sure of that when she had taken a bath. That evening when she finally retreated into her room and changed her clothes, she realized that it was gone.

Had it been stolen? Sakura growled in annoyance. Reverend Joachim had reminded her over and over again that in the slum they were living in, there were many street urchins that made their living by taking other's possession. That was why Sakura never carried a lot of cash with her (not that she had much of them), but her mother's locket was plain copper and a little rusty, she did not think anyone would want to take it.

Sakura tried to remember what she had been doing that day. The library, shopping in the street market, bumping into Uchiha Sasuke. Sakura shook her head, chasing any thought about the raven haired hottie before her mind started to wonder. She had walked around the slum, sharing the apples she had bought with the little homeless children on the street. Was it then?

Sakura stopped her pacing, dropping back on her bed with a loud sigh. Spread-eagled on the bed, she closed her eyes, trying to cope with the large regret that was beginning to bloom in her heart. She lay there for awhile, until fast thudding footsteps ran along the corridor outside the room and continued with loud rapid knockings on her door.

"Sakura-san! Sakura-san! Sakura-san!" a little girl called her from behind the door.

Sakura got up, stepped up heavily to the door, and opened. "What is it, Moegi?" she asked kindly to the little girl that was grinning widely. Moegi was one of the homeless children that were sheltered in the church.

Moegi was jumping up and down with excitement, "Guess what! Konoha-maru caught a vampire!"

Sakura blinked, "What?"

"Quick, you have to see!" Moegi started pulling her to the hallway impatiently. "He was looming outside the window for awhile. So, Konoha-maru, Udon, and I got suspo… suscos…"

Sakura smiled and let herself to be pulled along the excited girl, "suspicious?"

Moegi giggled, still pulling the older girl along the hallway and down the stairs, "Yeah! We got suspicious!"

Sakura sighed, having no doubt that the tree children had just caught a poor man seeking shelter. "And you caught him… how?"

Moegi grinned and bluttered out quickly, "Konoha-maru and Udon hid in the bushes while I went up to the second floor to dump last night dinner onto him from the window! When the vampire was surprised Konoha-maru and Udon tied him up! Aren't we cool?!"

"Brilliant," Sakura giggled and shook her head. That poor guy… She better prepare some clean clothes and warm soup. The wind was cold that day.

Moegi brought her to the dining room, where it was packed with several excited children and curious adults, all were the homeless sheltered in the church.

Sakura could hear Reverend Joaching talking apologetically, clearly trying to explain the situation to the poor man. "I'm so sorry, Uchiha-sama! These three children are a bit obsessed with vampire hunting, although I assure you they are good at heart."

Wait… Uchiha?

Sakura pushed her way through several people blocking the doorway. When she got to the front, her eyes widened as she saw Uchiha Sasuke. He sat at the dining table, warped in woolen sheet. He was cleaner that she thought and wearing Reverend Joachim's clothes. He must have taken a bath, his midnight hair hung wetly around his face. And most noticeably, he was glaring furiously at Konoha-maru and Udon who was standing across the room.

"Sasuke-kun?!" she exclaimed, pointing her index finger towards him.

His eyes left the two shivering boys and went to her. "Sakura," he muttered dispassionately.

"Sakura you know Uchiha-sama?" asked Reverend Joachim confusedly.

Sakura turned to the blonde pastor, "Yes, we've met before."

The reverend was a fifty year old man with blonde hair that was balding. He was a little thin, and standing a little slouched, however he was a good pastor. He liked taking care of the children and comforting the homeless that was sheltered in his church.

"Oh, good," said the reverend, sounding relieved. "I do believe Uchiha-sama does not like to be watched by the rest of us," he mentioned towards the spectators that was growing in number by seconds. Sasuke gave them a death glare. They all flinched and retreated one by one.

Konoha-maru and Udon was inching towards the door but Reverend Joachim caught them by the back of their shirt. "Oh no, you don't! Apologize properly to Uchiha-sama!"

Udon whimpered and Konoha-maru was flailing franctically. After much struggle, the reverend managed to have them in kneeling position in front of the Uchiha. "We're sorry!" the boys muffled, with the reverend's hand oh their bowed head.

Sasuke grunted and wave his hand to dismiss them.

"Well," the reverend sighed. "I'll leave him to you, then, Sakura."

"Okay," the pinknette smiled and watch the reverend and the two boys exit the dining room.

Sasuke remained stoic through the whole ordeal.

Sakura moved closer to Sasuke, "Are you okay? What are you doing here?"

He grunted and fished something from under the blanket that was wrapped around him.

Rusty reddish copper locket was dropped to the dining table.

Sakura gasped. "My mother's locket!" she quickly took the little trinket to her hands, holding it close to her chest lovingly. Her eyes sought his, twinkling brightly, a large smile grew on her face. "How did you – where did you – oh, screw that! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

He turned away from her, hiding his face, but she was too happy to care.

"You dropped it," he explained.

… _this afternoon_, Sakura finished his sentence silently. "Thank you. You don't know how much this means to me," she smiled at him gratefully.

"Hn," he grunted in reply.

"Have you… eaten? I still have some soup from tonight's dinner, I think it will warm you up," she offered, feeling like she had to do something to return his kindness.

"Don't bother."

"Please?" she tried to pursue further.

He sighed, "…fine."

She beamed. She swiftly moved and turned on the stove, a large pan of soup was still on it. She Kitchen had always been her territory, but she felt oddly giddy and at ease. She could feel Sasuke's eyes on her back, but his gaze was not intruding. On the contrary, she felt glad that she was sharing what she enjoyed with him.

With that thought in mind, the pinknette began to hum.

* * *

_Saint Jeanne Catholic Church, Green House, two days later_

Two days after Konoha-maru's vampire incident, Sakura found herself in the green house, tending a bunch of flower beds. She liked that job that was assigned to her by Reverend Joachim. The flowers are beautiful, and she always felt at peace while taking care of them. However, every job, as always, had its up and downs.

The pink haired girl yelped for what probably the thirteenth times as she pricked her fingers on a thorny rose. She brought her finger to her mouth and sucked the digit tenderly. She liked roses, they were pretty, especially the red ones, but the stems were way too painful to touch. Sighing inwardly, the pinknette left the rose bed and went to the lilies directly across the green house.

"Sakura," a low masculine voice called her from the doorway behind.

The pinknette turned and saw Sasuke. He was leaning against the door frame, his lean form overshadowed by the orange color of sunset. He was wearing a dark blue vest over a white shirt; the two top buttons on his shirt was unbuttoned. The outfit was completed with a pair of dark blue trousers, his left hand was carrying a black long coat.

Inner Sakura bulged her eyes and Fan-girl Sakura was simply drooling.

"Sasuke-kun," she greeted back, smiling. "Are you here to pick up your clothes?"

He straightened up and nodded.

Sakura titled her head; he truly was a man of few words. "Your clothes are in my room," she walked towards him, "come with me to the house and I'll get it for you."

He put his hands into his pockets and stepped away from the door, silently beckoning her to lead the way.

She lead him into the house, passing children playing tag, some men playing a game of chess, and a few women that was gossiping (they stopped dead when he passed bybut the chatter revived in a second, their giggling doubled). She went up the wooden stairs, Sasuke a few steps behind her. The corridor was empty; usually most of the residents were downstairs until dinner time. They passed through a series of doors and stopped in front of her room.

"Please wait here," the pinknette told the Uchiha, she opened the door and went into the room. She was out again within a minute, a paper bag in hand. "Here you go," she gave handed over his clothing.

"Hn," he grunted his thanks.

She looked up at him, wondering about his dark atmosphere. "Moegi won't stop talking about you, you know. I think you've enchanted her with your vampire wiles." she tried to joke in hope to raise his mood.

He smirked, amusedly.

"And the women would not stop talking about you," she added. "I supposed it's to be expected. I hadn't know how important the Uchiha family is to this city, but it seemed that you are very popular, and well respected too."

The smirk instantly gone from his face. He turned away ready to leave that instant.

Her hands shot up and gripped his arm, frowning "Hey, what's wrong?"

He snatched his hand away.

The pinknette held her abused hand. "Was it… something I said? I'm sorry…."

"Hn," Sasuke waved his hand in dismissal. "… all the things they did. That's just an obligation."

She blinked, "Eh?"

His onyx eyes turned darker with thought. "Everyone of them… they're fakes. My father, the servants, the civilians…. They are disgusting. I hate them."

Sakura's eyes widened. His thoughts were exactly the same with hers when she was still living in London. It was exactly the same… until she met him. "Sasuke-kun...," she could only whisper his name, not knowing what to say.

Sasuke chuckled in dark humor as he realized the irony of his statement, "…but I'm no different."

"No!" she shouted spontaneously in English, but quickly shifted back to Japanese. "Are you possessed or something? You shouldn't think like that!"

"It's true," he met her eyes squarely, eyes burning with inward flame. "You hate them, too. I can see it in your face."

She shook her head furiously, refusing to admit that he was right about her. She hated those selfish aristocrats that had made her previous life miserable. She hated her father's family with passion for treating her mother with worst respect. But…

Sasuke pursued mercilessly, "The noblemen in your country… they're just as manipulative and greedy for respects."

"But," she replied meekly. "But you're a nobleman, and you are not like that."

He was shocked by her statement, his eyes widened but quickly narrowed. "You know nothing about me," he countered icily.

"I know," Sakura shook her head, "This was only the fourth time we met, and it's completely normal if you don't believe me." Ignoring her anxious heart, the pinknette took a step closer to him. "But you have helped me, a stranger, many times before. You came here, all the way across the city, into the slums, just to return my mother's locket." Another step, "That's why I know, even though you are one of them…." She stopped a few feet before him, looking into his eyes so he can see her sincerity, "You're not like them."

The burn in Sasuke's eyes faded, he returned her gaze with an empty one.

His silence countered her little speech, but Sakura did not waver. She held her gaze. She was being honest, and she truly believed Sasuke would see it.

Slowly, his shoulder shook. He brought one hand to cover his eyes, some low chuckles escaped his mouth. And slowly the chuckles became louder until it developed into something loud and vocal.

He was laughing.

Sakura's heart twisted at the sound of his laugh. It was like he had just realized that he was being fooled; a sarcastic, almost sinister laugh.

"Sasuke-kun… it's not funny," she muttered weakly.

He laughed more, but it had changed; the cynical tone shifted into tired laugh. He was sarcastic before, but now he looked like he had surrendered. Like a wounded soldier, waiting to face his death.

Sakura could not stand it anymore. Her hand reached out and brushed his in a gentle, calming manner. She did not quite understand what she was doing, but she felt like he needed the comfort.

When her hand touched his, he stopped laughing. With a speed that rivaled lightning, his hand gripped her upper arm and pulled her closer to him.

Sakura's heart thundered in her chest as she looked up to his face, eyes widened in surprise and confusion.

He brushed a pink strand away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. Sakura's heart ached again at his gentle gesture.

"Sasuke …kun?" she inquired carefully, afraid that she would give a wrong reaction.

"You are the only one," he began lowly, velvety, "who dared to speak to me that way."

The pinknette shivered at his voice. Her heart felt like it was going to burst. "Is that… a bad thing?" she croaked breathlessly, eyes diverting his heated glare only to fall on his smirking lips.

His right hand trailed a path up her shoulder and she shivered. His hand continued its path until it gripped her nape, titling her head upward so her eyes met his onyx pools. "What do you think?" he asked huskily.

Her hands clenched his shirt, eyes wandering away, embarrassed. "I… kinda… like it."

His lips lifted not with a smirk like he had always done, but a small, pleased, smile. "Good."

She could barely register his reply before Sasuke brought her face up to his, pressing his lips against hers. The contact was shocking, sending jolts of lightning straight to her fluttering stomach. He opened his mouth and his canine grazed her lower lips. She gasped at the desire that raked her frame, buckling her knees. The hand on her arm went around her waist, pulling her closer, his tongue slipped in, deep into her mouth. His other hand gripped her head hard, holding her in place so he can explore her thoroughly.

She moaned, her head dizzy, eyes unfocused. His kiss was rough with emotions, he was trying to channel his anger. She could feel him biting and suckling her lips until they were tender, distracting her thoughts. Her stomach clenched painfully, the place between her legs throbbed and her thighs rubbing against each other to ease the pain.

It was crazy; she had only known this dark stranger for what …three days? She could list more than a hundred reasons why she should not be kissing him. On top of them all, she was not in love with him …and he certainly was not in love with her.

But the kiss was comforting. It felt right, she felt like she belonged… here… with him… in his arms. It was not her heart, but her soul that wanted him. No… it was both of their souls, two lonely souls that sought comfort in each other.

Just when she was ready to give in, he pulled away with a lustful groan. He panted, burying his head to her neck.

"Sasuke-kun…," she said his name breathlessly. She was limp in his arms, surrendering all her weight to his strength. She looked up to the ceiling, green eyes glazed with intense emotions.

"Sakura," he rasped against her neck.

She squirmed because his breath tickles. "Sasuke-kun, I…."

He pulled away, his hand lingered on her hair for a few seconds before stepping back completely. "Sakura…. thank you."

Unsure to how she should respond to that, the pinknette gave him a weak smile.

He turned and walked away, steady steps along the corridor and towards the stairs.

"Wait!" she shouted, the word came out of her mouth involuntarily.

He stopped, but he did not turn to meet her gaze. However, she knew he wanted to hear what she had to say; otherwise he would not have stopped.

But what will she say?

…_right, of course._

"Will you… come and visit me sometimes? I wish… we can be friends." Sakura brought her hand to her chest, clasping them together; a silent prayer.

He half turned towards her, giving her a lopsided smirk. "Hn," was his only reply before he went down the stairs and no doubt left the house.

Without his intense presence, Sakura lose the strength of her feet and fell down the floor. She closed her eyes, trying not to remember the feel of his hands around her body and his chapped lips on hers.

Friends… that's all they can be for each other.

He was engaged, and she had nothing to give to him except her sincere companionship. Inside Sakura, that little flame called hope died quietly.

* * *

_An unchangeable destiny,_

_Feeling one wishes one could change,_

_Meeting with the person who would change me,_

…_and watching myself change._

_I dreamt such a dream,_

_A long, never ending, dream…_

_

* * *

_**To be continued**

**

* * *

End note: **Yep, Fan-girl Sakura was born the instant Sakura met Sasuke. Isn't that brilliant? Hahahha. Anyway, I could have written my own closing poem, but that one sound fitting. What's the point for making a new one when I already know one that's completely fits by heart? Hehehe.

Please forgive me for being a lousy author. Truthfully, this fanfic had become a burden for me because I struggled to keep the originality and quality of my writing. I hoped no one is disappointed with me for tuning down the suspense. Afterall, I don't consider suspense as the major genre for this fanfiction. But if you squint, I think you will find it scattered around, because I think it has merged with my writing style. Haha.

Tell you what, please give me some feedback (aka review) because your comments lighten my burden (insert large hopeful smile). If only to give me the usual 0-9 scaling or saying happy birthday to this story. ehehe.

I will update again as soon as I finished the next chapter.

**IMPORTANT:** If you are confused about the whole ARC thing, please refer to the FAQ in my profile page. I will try to explain the best I can.

**Coming up next: **Sasuke and Sakura are intertwined in strings of wicked destiny as they inevitably grew closer… and we know a certain snake man who would love to take advantage of this situation.

**Review! **


	7. Fallen Angels

**Disclaimer:** Naruto and all related characters belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

**Authors Note:** Finally this chapter is orderly enough to post. Writing this is easier now, somehow the scenes popped up in my mind one after another… although I don't understand why they did not came in a chronological order. Maybe this is what they said when your characters started to be alive in you, everything will start to go unpredictable. They all wanted to talk at the same time! Gakh… they are driving me crazy! I had a hard time sorting the scenes. Which came first? Which came later on? I feel like I've just complete a very large piece of jigsaw puzzle.

* * *

_We are the fallen children_

_…have traded our purity for something so forbidden._

_And no matter how much it felt like a salvation, our bond is our sin._

* * *

**Dusk**

**Arc II**

**Chapter 5: Fallen Angels**

**

* * *

**

**Japan, 60 years ago**

* * *

_/A month later – Hinoiri-gakure public cherry blossom park – Late Friday morning/_

Sakura found the change of colors from winter to spring to be quite impressive. In Hinoiri-gakure, everything seemed to bloom in the spring, as if they were all happy to greet the warm sunlight. The trees grew striking green leaves and colorful flowers sprouted from the bushes. Sakura loved it. She had never seen such contrast colors. Back home, the spring transformation had been somewhat muted by gray colored buildings everywhere. However, out of all the reasons why she liked the spring in Hinoiri-gakure better, it was because Sakura had finally seen the flower that was her name sake.

They were beautiful; the cherry blossoms. Pale pink in color, the feather-like petals danced in the wind. Quite predictably, her newest favorite thing to do was visiting the public garden that was near the church. The garden was a huge open space that was designed for the cherry blossom festival. Although the viewing does not have to be on the festival day, the flowers were just as beautiful as anytime day and night.

Sakura had been visiting that garden almost every day. She would sit under a cherry tree and write letters to her father. In some other days, she just stood in the middle of the garden, under the shower of pink petals and enjoying the breezy wind. She would try to catch a falling petal and laugh when it slipped through her fingers.

"I thought you might be here," a familiar listless voice suddenly spoke.

The girl whirled around in shock. "Sasuke-kun!" she exclaimed delightfully.

Uchiha Sasuke was leaning against a nearby tree, his arms crossed, his eyes closed, looking bored. If he had not said anything earlier, Sakura would have thought he was not interested in starting a conversation. But Sasuke had always been like that, bored and uninterested with the world.

"You startled me," The pinknette grinned and moved closer to him.

He opened an eye, looking at her under his midnight locks. "Writing letters again?"

"No, not this time," the girl shook her head, pink locks dancing around her face. When she was close enough, she turned around and leaned against the tree, mimicking his posture. He green eyes opened curiously, watching the falling blossoms. "Today, I just want to enjoy the view."

He replied with a nod.

"What do you think about the cherry blossoms, Sasuke-kun?" asked Sakura.

He was silent for a moment, like he was trying to judge his answer. "Fragile... and pitiful."

"Why?" She looked at him curiously.

Sasuke did not look at her, but gazing with a far-off look into her garden. "The tree strives to live just for that single brief moment; because after the moment is over, it will once again be ordinary."

As she listened to his words, a grin grew wide on her face.

"What?" He looked back with a frown, finding her happiness out of place.

She moved in front of him, then bent a little, hands behind her back, while looking up to his face, smiling. "They way you said it… made me think of Cinderella."

He grunted amusedly. "Still thinking of fairy tales at your age?"

"No," Sakura replied patiently. She tilted her head slightly, her long pink locks brushed her shoulder as it moved because of the gravity. She sought his eyes, a habit when she was being honest. "But it _is_ rather magical, don't you think? Magical …and noble. It is not pitiful at all."

He raised an eyebrow.

"I think it is a beautiful way to live," she continued. "Striving hard for a single shining moment; and although the magic will be over, the experience will not be wasteful for we would have grown in the process."

He looked at her. She held his gaze, waiting for his reply. Somehow, she had not been talking about the cherry blossoms anymore, but she was sure that Sasuke understood.

He turned away. "That kind of lives only happened in fairy tales," he replied indifferently, slight bitterness in his tone.

"Why do you think it is not possible in reality?"

"Because in real life, you are never that free to choose the way you want to live."

"How come?"

"You are trapped in the society you were born into, a slave to their needs and morals," he replied sternly. "Every choice you make should benefit your society, or it would be deemed as selfishness."

Sighing, Sakura leaned back to the tree. "Is that the way you feel, Sasuke-kun?"

He turned sharply. "What makes you think that?"

The pinknette beat herself inwardly. She should have kept her mouth shut. She might have picked a subject that was too friendly for his liking. "I was just… she began carefully, hoping not to dig a deeper hole. "What you said is like something taken from personal experience. And because… I also used to think that way."

"Hn." He turned his attention back to the open field in front of them. Inner Sakura sighed. I seemed that she had chosen the right answer. They were silent for a while; both continued watching the garden with a solemn look.

It was Sasuke who finally broke their silence. "What makes you think otherwise now?"

The pinknette blinked, a little surprised that he wanted to continue their discussion (well, as much a discussion as they can get with a partner like Uchiha Sasuke).

She thought about his question for a moment. What changed her opinion? Well… the answer was quite simple and cliché; she did not know how he will react to that. "Maybe because I have faith now," she replied carefully.

His eyebrows lowered in to a frown.

"No, it's not the religious kind of faith," the pinknette quickly made her point. "I guess, now I have faith that there is still kindness in people."

He gave a disbelieving grunt.

"I know it's kind of funny. I would have never thought like that if I have not come here to Hinoiri-gakure." Sakura appreciated that he was willing to hear the end of her explanation although it was clear that he did not agree with her. So she began again, "Maybe, now I have seen that not all people are selfish and hateful."

"Especially when I see Reverend being so attentive towards those who live in the church, and seeing Tsunade-sishou fights so passionately even for the hopeless cases. I think being around them, who put so many thoughts in others, makes me also want to believe in a brighter way of life."

She avoided saying that he was one of those people. She did not say that she could see that Sasuke still has some kindness in him, despite his stoic and indifferent manner. He had proven to her that not all aristocrats were selfish and power hungry. Somehow she knew that the Uchiha would not be pleased at her thought. Instead, she turned to him and gave a nostalgic smile.

"Makes you think you want to be that person, too. Right, Sasuke-kun?"

He stared at her with an unreadable expression before slowly smirking. "You are such an optimist, it's almost annoying," he said with a hint of amusement, but it did not sound like he was mocking her idea anymore.

Sakura grinned, "But not annoying enough, right? You know I can be right."

"Hn."

The pinknette huffed. "Mou, you're so stubborn, Sasuke-kun."

"Well, if all people in the world have the same naïve thoughts as yours, maybe the world can be a better place."

Sakura did not know whether to be embarrassed of offended by that. Nonetheless, all retorts that she intended to throw back died on her throat as she caught his eyes.

He was not smiling. No, his face was still covered with the perpetual stoic mask. However, his gaze was softer. The color of his eyes was warmer. Not the usual abyss black, but a lighter shade of indigo.

Sakura turned away quickly, her heart beating fast and she could feel her face heating. She never thought she would see such gentle fire in his eyes, especially not directed at her. He was looking at her as if she was… she was the cherry blossom.

_(Something beautiful… noble… and magical.)_

Maybe he _was_ looking at the cherry blossom. Maybe the _look_ was not for her.

_Please, don't look at me like that…. or else, I might…_

_

* * *

_

_/Uchiha Clan Main House – later that evening/_

When Sasuke got home that evening, he had every intention for going to the library room to do some self studying. He had been slow on progress lately, but that was a price he paid consciously for all the time he spend outdoor. Not that he was lacking behind, Sasuke knew he was quite ahead from the other academy students around his age. Being homeschooled since childhood had its own advantages.

The young Uchiha was passing the dining room when a sudden voice halted his steps.

"Where have you been, Sasuke?"

Uchiha Fugaku was sitting by the dining, eyebrows pulled down into a frown. "Father," Sasuke nodded slightly in greeting. "I was at the cherry garden."

"All day? With that weird girl again?" Fugaku did not sound like he was happy at al. "I thought you understood that we do not mix with the peasants."

Sasuke chose not to respond to that. He knew he was not permitted to befriend the commoners. However, Sasuke did not feel the need to explain to his father that Sakura was different. Her speech and knowledge were far better developed than mere commoners; Sasuke knew that the pinknette had been raised as an aristocratic family even though she presently lived in the slum. Sasuke actually found Sakura more intelligent than the other girls he had known in Hinoiri-gakure, the fact that made his conversations with her always intriguing.

Fugaku sighed and shook his head disappointedly. "I don't want you to see that girl again. I don't appreciate how the rumors about her will affect our family."

It was Sasuke's turn to frown, "What rumors?"

The Uchiha patriarch only gave a dismissing wave with his hand to answer his son's question. "Karin will be visiting us again next Friday," Fugaku began, changing the subject. "I expect you to pay more attention to her rather than mingling among the commoners, especially that girl."

Again, Sasuke chose not to reply. His father already knew that he only accept the engagement with Karin because the Uchiha family agreed it was profitable for their business. Karin was the daughter of a private train company in Agarikiri, and it was clear that his father wanted to increase the train traffic in Hinoiri-gakure. More trains meant increasing local exports and imports. The Uchiha would gain more power if they managed to establish that connection.

Not liking his son's lack of response, or perhaps Fugaku knew that Sasuke never promised on something he did not like, the patriarch demanded confirmation. "I mean it, Sasuke. I will not appreciate your loose behavior much longer."

"Fine," Sasuke hissed through his teeth.

"What was that?"

The younger Uchiha stepped back before bowing slightly. "I understand, Father. May I be excused now?" Sasuke did not wait for his father's reply before walking away.

"Don't you give me that childish act, Sasuke!"

Sasuke pretended he did not hear his father and continued to walk away. All his moods for studying gone, the young Uchiha intended to calm himself by visiting the garden at the back of their house.

Once he was in the small Japanese patio, Sasuke sat down on one of the stone bench facing a fish pond. He laced his fingers and brought them up to his chin while propping the elbows on his knees. Sasuke's eyes wandered to the dark sky, fixing particularly at the moon; a full-moon.

A familiar face appeared in his mind and brought a mix of disappointment, frustration, and anger. The mood had always reminded him of his brother.

_If only Itachi was here._

Suddenly, Sasuke stiffened. An ominous feeling snaked down his spine, chilling the air around him. The Uchiha eyed the empty garden suspiciously. Quiet… too quiet. The silence was abnormal. The crickets had stopped singing. The fishes in the pond scampered behind rocks, hiding under dark shadow. He felt like he was being watched. Peasants? Thieves? Spies?

Sasuke stood up. "Show yourself," he commanded coldly.

"I am behind you," a smooth silky voice hung in the air.

Sasuke immediately whirled around and came face to face with a man whose face was pale as snow. The young Uchiha took a step back in defense.

"You have a quite impressive senses, for a human," said the man with a hint of amusement. Sasuke noted that his pupils were silted like a snake, surrounded with sickly yellow irises.

Sasuke glared at the intruder. "What business do you have here?"

"Ah," the man lifted both hands, indicating that he meant no harm. "I was just looking for food."

_Peasants?_ Sasuke did not think so. The man carried himself with power, he was not just some random commoners desperate for foods. He was probably lying, but Sasuke was not interesting in finding his real reason. "Leave now. This area is restricted," the young Uchiha said coldly before walking away.

The man's lips pulled wide into a sinister smile. "You looked delicious, Sasuke-kun" the silky voice was coated with mockery.

Sasuke turned back to the man, eyes wide in shock. "What?"

_How did the man know my name?_

The snake-like man moved slowly, walking sideways, circling the young Uchiha, his yellow eyes piercing. "You have a beautiful soul. It's white and fiery, crackling with power."

"Don't talk nonsense-,"

"But it's tainted with hate. You think everything around you is fake, don't you? You hated your father for controlling your life. You hated your mother for leaving this world too early. You hated your brother, for abandoning you and leaving all his responsibilities to you."

"Shut. Up." Sasuke snapped angrily to hide his shock. What the man had said hit a little too close to home.

The man chuckled sinisterly, "Don't worry, I don't mind."

The man moved forward with inhuman speed, appearing in front of Sasuke within a second. One sickly pale hand lifted and touched the boy's chin lightly, almost affectionately. "I like tasting hate and anger in a human soul."

Disgusted, the Uchiha slapped the hand away roughly, his other fist raised up, ready to hit. But as the fist came down, he only hit thin air.

The man was gone.

"Ah, you are an interesting one," the silky slithering voice hung in the air, its source unable to be identified.

Sasuke scanned the garden over and over. Nothing.

"I will enjoy seeing that soul darkens, Sasuke-kun. We will meet again." The voice faded out until there was once again the abnormal silence, but the ominous presence was gone.

The crickets started chirping again, Sasuke could hear an owl hooted from afar. With a sigh, the Uchiha prodigy sat back at the stone bench, hand over his face.

_I must be tired…._

Alert and bothered, Sasuke sat there for a long time, not moving.

* * *

_Hinoiri-gakure, upper class alleyway – past midnight_

The rain was cold that night. There was not a single person on the road, except for a sunny haired adolescent boy that was leaning against a flickering lamppost. His brilliant blue irises were blinking in the rain, black boots tapping on the paved sidewalk impatiently. He was waiting for somebody.

A silver haired man appeared from a shadowy corner of the street. The man was tall and wrapped in dark olive long coat. By the look of his creased brow, it was apparent that he was not feeling happy.

The boy looked up. "Did you get him?" he asked when the man had walked close enough to talk without shouting.

The silver-haired man shook his head grimly, "No, I lost him."

The boy cursed, slamming his forearm on the lamppost he had been leaning on. The hanging lamp died for a few seconds before flickering back alive.

"Quiet down," scolded the man coolly.

"But-but-but aren't you mad?" the boy crossed his hand in front of his chest, a gesture of irritation. "This is the first hint we got in half a century! AND we lost him!"

The silver haired man brought one hand to his chin, thinking out loud. "No… we might still have a chance."

"Huh?"

"In fact, I don't think that he would leave town anytime soon."

The boy simply looked confused, "What do you mean?"

"The Snake-sannin has been here for a while, but I doubt he is staying because he liked it," the man replied slowly, calculatingly. "Something must have poked his interest."

"What?"

The man shook his head grimly. "There are few theories, but none that we can be proven unless we get more information."

The blonde boy scratched the back of his head. "So he will stay until he gets whatever he wants?"

"I believe so. Now, how about the human boy?"

"He sat in the garden until past midnight before returning to his room because it started raining. He didn't do anything suspicious."

The silver haired man nodded.

The blonde's blue eyes twinkled excitedly, "Should we arrest him?"

"No." The man rolled his eyes, the only one visible because the other was covered with an eye patch.

"Damn," the blonde sounded genuinely disappointed. "So we go straight to the Snake bastard?"

The man shook his head again. "That, we will also not do …yet."

"Whaaat? Then what are we going to do?"

"Hm….," the man hummed solemnly. The boy could practically see the wheels turning in his head. Finally the man straightened up and turned to the boy. "Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

The man gave an odd crinkled-eyed smile. "Find a job."

"Huh?" the blonde boy blinked several times.

With no intention of answering, the silver haired man conjured a dark door and walked into it.

Naruto grabbed his hair in frustration. "Argh, you're confusing me, Kakashi-sensei!"

* * *

_/Five days later – St. Jeanne Catholic Church – Near sunset/_

In Sakura's opinion, one of the best spot in St. Jeanne was the front porch. The porch was spacious and breezy during the spring. The area was covered in wooden planks, painted white, just like the rest of the building. The place was surrounded with plants, flower shrubs, and several pots of orchids hanging down the ceiling. The view was also wonderful; she could see a good portion of the front yard, where children were usually out playing games. It was the perfect spot to relax and get some afternoon reading.

That was how Uchiha Sasuke found her that Wednesday afternoon, almost a week after their last encounter.

"I was wondering when I will see you again," said Sakura with a grin on her face. She put away the book she had been reading. "It's been a while. I thought you've caught a lethal disease or something."

The boy grunted dismissively, "Hn, I was preoccupied."

The pinknette moved over so he could also sit on the chair. "Occupied indeed," she giggled, just because she knew he found the sound annoying. "I saw you at the theaters with Karin-san yesterday."

He sat down while throwing a smirk her way. "You're there?"

The girl nodded. "Yup, I like to watch the movies too sometimes. Although the tickets can be quite expensive so I didn't get to go as often as I like."

The Uchiha nodded. "We can go sometimes."

Sakura giggled. "No, thank you. I would hate to steal you from your fiancé. You two looked so cute together. You were frowning all the time but Karin-san still managed to put up with you."

Sasuke frowned, her statement bothered him. He should not have felt any disappointment, but he did. He decided to change the subject. "She did not like your lack of respect to her, you know."

The pinknette laughed at that, "By refusing to call her with the superior suffix? Yeah, that's probably why I did it anyway."

He raised an eyebrow, amused.

"Does that offend you? She is, after all, your fiancée." she studied his face. No such luck, still the same masked expression. Ever since that day (when they kissed, insert huge inner blush) he had never shed that mask of indifference from his face.

Sasuke shrugged, "Either way, your status from where you came from is equal to hers."

Sakura's bright smile was quick to disappear. "I haven't told you… that I was only the child of my father's second wife. So you see, I am not exactly equal with Karin_-sama._"

"You are still you father's child, are you not?"

The girl smiled at him, "True." She leaned back into the chair, her legs swinging back and forth playfully. "Ne, Sasuke-kun, can I tell you a secret?"

"What?"

She stopped swinging her legs and looked down solemnly. "My father adored my mother very much, you know. Everyone in court can see that he loved her more than his first wife. He used to shower Mother with gifts and flowers."

He turned to her, one elbow propped up on the chair's handle to support his head. "I see. Does that make you happy?"

Sakura shook her head. "I think that my mother did not really love my father."

The pinknette avoided his eyes, they made her nervous. She fixed her gaze to the children that were playing tag across the yard. She drew a deep breath before continuing her story, "Father bought Mother from an Okiya during one of his visit to this city. Even though my mother was relieved that she didn't have to work hard anymore to earn a living, I don't think she wanted to leave Japan either. I heard from the maids, that my mother had actually been in love with someone else before her fate was decided by my father."

"Maids talk is a barely accurate source of information, Sakura," said Sasuke coolly. Sakura thought for a second how much personal experience he was putting into that statement.

"I know," she replied, smiling. She appreciated his implied comfort. "But sometimes, I saw her looking outside the window with a far-off look. Perhaps, she was thinking about that man. Sometimes, I think I was the only one that bound her to England. If she didn't have me, Father would have set her free a long time ago. Because I know that deep down Father felt guilty towards Mother. He still has this guilt, I think, even more now because my mother had passed away."

The pinknette sighed, "I never told anyone about this, you are the only one that knows."

She waited, but Sasuke stayed silent. Well, she would not know what to say either, so she did not think much about his lack of comments. Deciding to change the subject, she finally turned to him and grinned. "How about you, Sasuke-kun? What is your deepest and darkest secret?"

His expression turned solemn. Sakura looked at him curiously. She had meant what she said as a joke; she did not think that Sasuke would be willing to share his secrets that easily. Surprising indeed, Sasuke was actually taking her question seriously.

"… I have… had a brother," he began after a while.

_Past tense? _

"Itachi; He was much older than I am, but I suppose you can say that we were close. He used to tutor me both in my studies and martial art lessons."

"What happened to him?"

"One day I woke up… and he was gone. His room was empty as if no one has been living there." Sasuke raised a hand to mess with his hair, gesture to hide his uneasiness. The situation had been reversed, he was now looking away and she was focusing her attention to his every words.

"I asked everyone in the estate, wreaking havoc, looking for him," Sasuke began again. "My father and Mother refused to talk about what happened, not even the maids were gossiping about it. It was like Itachi never exists. I was confused then, but I understand now. That disappearance was a potential scandal. My father might have threatened a lot of people just to make sure that no one ever breathes a word about it."

She detected the bitterness in his tone. She had had sensed that feeling for a while now, whenever Sasuke talked about his father. The story might be the root of all his resentment towards the Leader of the Uchiha Clan. Sakura thought she would be bitter too, if her parents started to act like her beloved brother had never exist.

"What happened after that?" she asked, intrigued.

Sasuke messed with his hair again. "My father started preparing me to be the next clan leader."

Sakura imagined the burden he must have felt then. The pinknette knew that being the heir of a noble family was never easy, it was not something that can be dumped upon you just suddenly. Not being a legitimate heir herself, Sakura was grateful that she had much less pressure than her oldest step-brother.

"How old were you when this happened, Sasuke-kun?"

"I was seven."

_So young!_ Inner Sakura screamed. Sometime ago, he had told her that his mother passed away when he was nine years old._ So not fair,_ Sakura could not imagine how he must feel then. Two of his most precious person; gone. Poor little Sasuke….

"You must feel pressured."

He did not reply nor did Sakura expect an answer, the answer was already there. Sakura almost sighed when a familiar comfortable silence fell between them. She had gotten used to Sasuke's quiet personality. Actually, she liked how the silence calmed her nerves. The time she spent with him after a rough day at work was her secret pleasure. She felt that she was somehow closer to him. She hoped that he also felt that way.

It was almost dinner time when he stood up and bid her good bye.

* * *

_/The Uchiha Main House, Dinner/_

"You disappointed me, Sasuke. Why did you leave your fiancé to stroll alone in town?" said Fugaku when the family was having dinner that night. The patriarch was sitting at the head of the table, Sasuke was in front of him. Karin was also there, sitting at the longer side of the table.

Sasuke turned his attention from his dinner to his father, frown on his face. "Karin told me she would be okay shopping _alone_."

The red haired girl shifted in her seat. "It's okay, uncle. I did tell him that. I went shopping to buy something for him and wanted it to be a surprise."

Fugaku waved his hand to dismiss Karin's speech. "Nonetheless, you should have accompanied her on her way there and pick her up."

"I have to take care of some business," Sasuke put down the bowl and chopsticks in his hands, now glaring fully at his father. He did have something to do. There were some books he needed to return to the central library. He just… decided to take the longer way home.

"I know you went to that church again," his father was using that non-sense tone. Sasuke hated that he could not completely disprove him.

Hearing this, Karin turned to him, eyes wide in surprise. "Sasuke-sama, you went to see Sakura-san?"

By then, Sasuke had completely lost his appetite. "I did, on my way back."

Fugaku frowned disapprovingly, "I told you not to associate with that woman again. Some people says she is after our money."

Now that was going too far. Sasuke barely refrained from slamming his hands to the table. "You barely know her, Father."

"Then what would make her be bold enough to be friendly with you? Does her loose attitude appeal to you?"

Sasuke clenched his fists, cold fire burned his onyx orbs. "She is witty and fiery, yes. But she is never uncouth."

Fugaku leaned back on his chair, sighing tiredly. "I see that you have gotten ensnarled with her charm."

"I have enough of this," Sasuke pushed his chair back and stood up to leave the room.

"Don't go outside, Sasuke," his father warned sternly. "A new tutor is coming to teach you World History tomorrow morning. I have decided to double you study time seeing you have a lot to spare."

The boy stopped dead on his feet, twisting around so he can see his father again. "What?"

"His name is Hatake Kakashi. I am sure you can learn a lot of things from him. He graduated from the Tokyo University and has done much travelling."

"Fine," Sasuke scowled. He put his hands into his pockets and left the room without further ado.

Fugaku sighed long and hard when Sasuke finally disappeared behind the door. "I am sorry he is like that, Karin."

The crimson haired girl smiled politely. "Don't worry, Uncle. I will be patient with him."

"I am glad. You are a calm young lady, I know you are perfect for my defiant son." said Fugaku approvingly.

"Thank you, Uncle."

Karin kept the polite smile plastered on her face. However, inside she was sheeting. Sasuke had been secretly visiting another woman. God knows how long he had been doing that. She could not let this go on any longer. She had fought hands and nails and finally get to be his fiancée. Sasuke was hers. She had made sure that her claim is obvious to any other. When they walked through town, every girls would look at her with admire and envy. She was the future Uchiha matriarch. She needed to do something to remove that pinky from the picture, completely erased so she could not have a chance to go back even if she wanted to.

* * *

_/Two months later – The Uchiha Main House – late morning/_

_Dear Sasuke-kun,_

_How are you? It has been a while since we met. I kind of miss our aimless banters; my witty side needs its practice you know (kidding, I really did enjoy our conversations). I suppose you have been busy with those extra lessons, huh? Don't complain! I kind of envy you; you get to learn all those sophisticated subjects. I wish I can go to school again, but I guess everyone in the church need me the most. _

_Another batch of homeless people came just yesterday from Tsukimori Village; most of them are elderly people though. I wish more young people would come so they can help to work out the expenses. My job at the hospital barely helped covering the necessary needs. Speaking of young people, a boy around our age joined the community just recently. I think he is a mixed blood, like me, because he has blonde hair and blue eyes but his name is Uzumaki Naruto. He is such an energetic guy, bright and colorful every day (I am talking about his preferences in fashion). _

_The elders hate Naruto, because he likes to play pranks. But the kids adored him, especially Konohamaru. You remembered Konohamaru, right? The kid that dumped rotten dinner to your head a while ago? No, I would never let you live it down, it was too hilarious. And don't tell me I am annoying, you know I am only that way because you are so fun to tease. _

_Anyway, I need to keep this short because I have to go to work. The hospital has been slaving me dead, what had made me agreed to those extra working hours? Oh right, I can't say no because they doubled my pay. _

_Hope to see you soon! _

_-Sakura_

~*~

Sasuke refolded the letter, slipped it back into the envelope, and put it inside his pocket. He planned to write a reply tomorrow while waiting for Kakashi; the silver haired sensei will most likely be late again. The young Uchiha had been surprised when he received Sakura's letter, he did not think they will need to communicate that way because they lived in the same town. Sakura probably found it amusing; she always had that kind of optimistic thinking.

He should visit her again… maybe the following weekend. He wanted to see for himself what kind a person this Naruto was. Sakura sounded like she was fond of the boy. An image of Sakura in a nurse outfit holding a spoon to a blonde guy in a hospital bed appeared in Sasuke's mind. The Uchiha suppressed an urge to punch something.

No, he will go today.

The only door in the room suddenly opened, drawing his attention. His butler, a tall and elderly man, came with a tray of steaming hot pot and biscuits. Sasuke took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of coffee.

"I thought you would appreciate a brief coffee break, Sasuke-sama," said the butler. "You have been studying all morning."

Sasuke nodded, and left his desk to sit by the small round table in the middle of the room. The butler poured the black coffee into his cup and arranged the biscuits around the plate.

The young Uchiha sipped the coffee a little. Black with no sugar, just the way he liked it. He nodded to the butler in approval. The butler bowed slightly before stepping back to give his master some space.

"May I enquire what you would like to have for lunch, Sasuke-sama?" asked the butler after a while.

"No need. I will be out all afternoon."

The butler frowned, "Are you sure, Sasuke-sama? Fugaku-sama would not be happy about it."

Sasuke ignored the biscuits and took a sip on his coffee again. "I have been entertaining my father for eight full weeks. I think I deserve a break."

"Do you plan to visit the church, Sasuke-sama?"

Sasuke frowned at the question. His butler had never asked him where he planned to go. That sudden interest was odd. "What if I am?"

"Forgive me, I did not mean to intrude," said the butler quickly, sensing his master's annoyed tone. "But perhaps this is probably not the best time to go there."

"Why?"

The butler stayed silent and avoided his master's piercing glare.

Sasuke grew more suspicious. It was apparent that the old man was hiding something. "You will tell me why," he demanded.

The butler shifted his stance uncomfortably, "There had been some unpleasant rumors going around the place."

_That rumor thing again?_

"What rumors?" asked Sasuke tersely.

His butler's voice dropped to a whisper level, almost as if he was afraid to be heard by some hiding behind the walls. "People talked about some dark religious activities under the church. The priest offered human sacrifices in the sermon; that is why he collected the homeless."

Sasuke could feel his head pounding. To his ears, that information was so ludicrous it was almost funny. But that was because he had been to the church a few times. He also knew that Sakura would never let something like that happened under her wing.

Analyzing the situation, the rumors were too random to have sprouted on their own. It was true that Sakura's foreign religion was not openly accepted in the village, but usually people left them alone. Somebody must have feeding the public with nonsense stories. The question was who had enough motives to do something like that and who would gain the benefit if the church was gone.

The young Uchiha's train of thoughts was interrupted when he heard his butler's next sentence.

"The rumors have been getting worse, so Fugaku-sama had been requested by the town governor to renovate the whole North West slum district."

Sasuke's brain froze, _What?_

Visioning the whole suburb demolished, hundreds of grave possibilities crashed into his mind. One thought was clearer and greater than the others. Sasuke wasted no time before standing up. He left the room and the house with one intention in mind.

_Sakura._

* * *

_/St. Jeanne Catholic Church – Late morning/_

[_The girl living in this house is_ a _witch!! Be gone! Burn the Devil spawns to ashes!_]

Sakura sighed for what probably the thousandth times as she bend down and dipped a wide brush into a bucket filled with thick paint. She raised the tool to the wall and started brushing up and down until the angry red words were covered with dark brown paint. She opted to use dark colors so if someone decided to write on the wall again the words would not be as visible. The paint got thinner after several brushing, leaving '_Burn the Devil spawns to ashes!_' still visible. Sakura dipped the brush back into the paint.

"Sakura," a deep voice called behind her back.

Sakura froze and almost curse inwardly (_please forgive me, Mother Mary_). Out of all the time in the world, why did Sasuke choose to come right then? She did not want him to see the words on the wall. She did not want him to know how the villagers think of her.

She put the brush into the bucket before turning slowly, plastering a stiff smile on her face. "Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke looked back and forth between the girl, the words on the wall, and the paint bucket on the ground. The situation was worse than he thought.

Sakura offered an awkward laugh. "It's nothing big," she referred to the words on the wall. "Just a prank that went a little over the line." God, she had never been good with lying.

Sasuke frowned, "Is this the first time this happened?"

The pinknette hung her head low. "No…," she replied weakly.

"You didn't tell me," said Sasuke accusingly.

Sakura shook her head. "I haven't got the chance to tell you. This only started a few weeks ago."

"You wrote me a letter."

Sakura blushed and looked to the side, avoiding his accusing glare. "I don't want you to know, okay? It's unpleasant…."

"This is vandalism. It's a crime." He moved closer, leaving only a narrow distance between them.

"It's just a prank…," she denied unconvincingly.

He went silent. Sakura felt like he was judging the situation by studying the state of the church; which was shamefully overflowing with silent proof. The whole building had been repainted with dark colors. Some windows were missing its glass. Some flower beds had been destroyed.

He sighed. "You have to move out."

Her head snapped immediately to his direction. "What?" she exclaimed disbelievingly.

His gaze was straight, eyes determined. "This place is going to be demolished. You have to get out of here."

Sakura frowned; disappointed that he did not want her to stay. "No! The Reverend has already talked to the governor, a discussion is in progress."

"It's no use."

"Can't you have more faith in us?!" she almost screamed the words. Weeks of pent up frustration and sadness threatening to explode.

Hearing her raised voice, some children stopped playing and the elders looked their way. Sasuke did not notice, but Sakura would not let their conversation continue in public much longer. "People are watching, let's go to somewhere else," she said uncomfortably.

"Where?" Sasuke gritted through his teeth, eyes glaring at the spectators, now aware of their curious stares.

"The green house. There should be no one in there."

"Fine."

The two walked to the green house in silence, tension hung thick in the air. When they arrived, Sakura quickly went in followed by Sasuke.

The pinknette locked the door before turning to him. "I don't want to run away, Sasuke. I think if we explained it to them truthfully, they will understand," said the pinknette gently.

"You don't know my father," Sasuke retorted. "You don't know the power he holds over this village. This project will be very profitable to us; he would do anything to make it happen. You need to get away."

"No!" Sakura shook her head furiously.

He grabbed her arms, shaking her frame in frustration. "Damnit, Sakura! Why are you so stubborn!"

"Because this is my home now," she looked at him, emerald eyes shining with determination. "I like it here. I have friends here. You are one of them, Sasuke-kun. I can't bare the thoughts of not seeing you again. I mean, not seeing all of them again."

Sasuke did not miss her unconvincing restatement. His hand tightened around her arms. "I will go with you."

To say Sakura was shocked will be an understatement. "What? No!"

He ran his hand through his hair, before sighing jadedly. "I will go with you, so there, you can still have a friend." He made sure she was looking at him before he continued, "Just get out of this place… before it's too late."

"Sasuke-kun…," her voice wavered, torn by contradictive thoughts. The idea of running away with him appealed to her too much for her liking. However, she found her strength to shake her head from left to right. "No," her answer sounded weak and unsure.

He pushed her to the wall none too gently, both hands now caging her head. He glared down at her intensely, "Am I not enough, Sakura?"

Sakura could swear her heart had stopped for a moment. The two voices inside head were shouting at each other, making her dizzy. Inner Sakura yelled at her to start giving Sasuke a piece of her mind for the way he treated her. Fan-girl Sakura went into "kyaa-kyaa" mode and started squealing loudly.

"I," her voice died down and Sakura had to clear her throat so she can speak again. "Sasuke-kun, we can't!"

He bent closer, speaking lowly and velvety into her ear that her insides instantly flutters, "Why the hell not?"

Her hand instantly flew to his chest, pushing him away, albeit weakly. "Please… Sasuke-kun," she managed to speak shakily. Questions were swirling in her head. She wondered how much Sasuke knew about her feelings for him that he was able to make such suggestions. She wondered if she had not been discreet enough with her emotions.

One of his hands caught her chin and tipped her head upwards so now she can do nothing but look at his face. He still had that intense look. "Am I not enough, Sa-ku-ra?" he repeated slowly, spelling each syllable of her name enticingly.

Sakura could do nothing except for looking at him with wide shocked emerald eyes, her mouth opening and closing wordlessly. Her gaze was eventually pulled downwards towards his lips by an unknown force.

…a pair of lips that was now spreading sideways to form a triumphant smirk.

Before her mind completely shut down, Inner Sakura screamed angrily. Fan-girl Sakura had died a blissful death some time ago. His head dove down, while his hand pulled her head up. He kissed her mercilessly, devouring her lips so passionately Sakura felt her knees buckled under the force. If she was not pushed against the wall, she would have fallen down to the floor. He bit her lips, tongue slipped into her mouth, lancing to the deepest corner of her cavern. She groaned wantonly against his mouth, her hands betrayed her logic and went around his neck, pulling him closer as she pushed into the kiss. He pulled away, smirking, before starting a set of biting down the column of her neck.

"Mmm… no," she mumbled, head lolled to the side.

He started with her right ear lobe, nipping for a few times. Then, he dragged his teeth down to her collarbone slowly, sensually.

"Sasu… ah!" electric jolts ran over her body. She clenched her thighs together, trying to ease the throbbing pain between her legs.

Sasuke nursed the side of her neck faithfully, suckling at the skin none too gently before licking the reddish bruise apologetically.

"Mmm… S-stop!" she resorted to verbal refusal, because her hands did not want to cooperate. Even then, her voice was weak and laced with desire. "We can't do this…," she muttered. Her body arched involuntarily when one of his hands sneaked up her spine, pulling their body closer.

"… you want this. I know you do," he drawled against her skin, now moving and making a path to the other side of her neck, nipping and biting.

Sakura was sure she was going to be covered by marks by the time Sasuke decided to stop. "No…," the words sounded more like a mantra rather than an actual rejection.

He ignored her, now going up her neck again and gave his attention to her other ear. "You taste good, Sakura," he growled, teeth scrapping the shell teasingly. His hand brushed the side of her body sensually before cupping her breast. Sakura moaned helplessly as his thumb started tracing circles around her tender nipples. She swallowed a lustful groaned, shaking her head from side to side. Why had she not chosen to wear a thicker chest binding? She could feel his touch as much as if she was naked.

Sakura turned her head aside, trying fruitlessly to return some senses to her head. "I won't…. Sa-suke… Not this… We can't. Ahn!"

Oh, he was so good with his hands.

"You are… already… promised… to someone." She breathed between pants.

His stopped moving, and thankfully, pulled away from her ear, opting to look into her eyes. "I have no feelings for Karin," he spoke sternly as if he was annoyed that she did not knew that already.

"And you feel something for me?" Sakura asked wearily, glad that the cloud in her mind cleared a little now that he was not doing things with his mouth and hands. "Of course you don't," she forced that last line bitterly, almost in disdain.

He pulled away, shocked at her sharp rejection.

Her mouth was opened and words spilled from her lips even before she could actually think about them. "You and I both know that we do not know each other well enough for you to lo… to have any tender feelings for me. You just want out from the life you do not desire. I just happened to be here."

He glared at her, hands slamming to both side of her face. "Don't be a hypocrite. What makes you know me well enough to put words into my mouth?"

"It's the truth!" she glared back at him with the same intensity, managing to convert her pent up sexual frustration into anger.

"You can't prove that," he sneered down to her face, lips pulled into a sarcastic line. "You're just scared."

"No! I… you… I really want to be your friend, Sasuke-kun!" _At least in the beginning…_

"Liar," he chuckled mockingly. Once again, he brushed his hand to the side her side, up and down.

Sakura could not help but shiver at his touch. Her hands tried to push him away once more. "No, it's true! Let go of me!"

He bended down again, speaking smugly, "If you really just want to be my friend, Sakura, you will not shudder when I do this."

He started nipping her lobe again, suckling, biting, and then he blew gently into her ear.

True to his words, she shuddered, and felt the heat spread to her cheeks. "Stop!"

He smirked, "Your stomach will not clench when I do this." His hand reunited with her breast, but instead of grazing her nipple with his thumb like he did before, he groped and fondled fully.

"Ah!"

"… or was it somewhere much lower, Sa-ku-ra?"

Her knees buckled. He swiped her into his consuming arms as his mouth devoured hers again ravenously. His body pressed against her, rubbing sensually.

Dizzy….. She felt so dizzy. In lust or sensory overload she did not know. Her body lit alive from everywhere he touched. She felt his hand trail a lazy path up and down her thighs before lifting one of them and hooked it around his hip.

Sakura threw her head back as she felt his hard cock against her wet core. God, she could feel that he want her as much as her body ached for him. "Sasuke! Ah…"

His tongue dove again into her mouth, cutting off whatever she was trying to say. Sakura did not remember anything anymore. He hands automatically went around his back, her nails digging harshly through his shirt. He growled into her mouth, the force of his kiss doubled, his hips grounding into hers in a slow circular motion. She moaned helplessly.

Sakura felt suffocated. Emotions packed up and whirled inside her chest. Sasuke overwhelmed her. His presence, his touch, his kiss… he could ignited a raging fire inside her whole being. And she hated it. She hated that her body so readily reacted to his touch, agreed to what Sasuke had said. She hated that her mind was not strong enough to control her desire. She hated that she wanted to be with him, despite his duties to his family.

Tears of frustration sprang into eyes, leaking from the side of her clenched lids. One drop was followed by another and soon her tears had wetted her cheeks and his hand that was holding her chin.

He froze.

Her tears refused to stop even after he abruptly pulled away as if he was burned.

"Shit. Sakura…."

The pinknette shook her head, holding her hands close to her chest. She thought it was strange that her tears kept falling when she was not sad. She felt only pain. What pain? Why does she feel the pain?

"Look, I… Don't cry…." He ran a hand through his hair, she realized not it was a habit whenever he felt uncomfortable.

Sakura shook her head, tears still wetting her cheeks. "Sasuke… you are right."

"What?" he looked at her in disbelievingly.

The pinknette pressed her hands harder against her chest. "I do… I do feel it; this something between us, whatever that is. "

_I do want to be with you._

"But we… you… have responsibilities towards your family. Not just your family, but his village as well. This village is supported by your family. The villagers depend on you. We can't destroy that. We can't destroy their hope."

In this time of war. A small hope that we feel because we can still have a place called home. There is little to nothing more important than that.

He looked at her. Up and down. His expression grew from disbelieve into frustration, then anger, and finally stoic. "I… understand," he spoke coldly, indifferently.

Too cold she could feel the ice sliced through her heart.

"Sasuke-kun…." She reached for him, helplessly, in pain that she had hurt him with her words.

He jerked his hand off, as if he was disgusted by her touch. "I will keep my distances. What more do you want?"

Sakura held her abused hand. "But I…"

"What do you want, Sakura?" he looked at her icily.

She met his eyes.

_Liar,_ his eyes told her.

_No, I didn't mean it that way,_ she pleaded back silently.

She averted her gaze, not able stand the betrayed look she could see in his eyes. "… I'm sorry. I am being selfish. You are right. The less we see each other, the better."

_… but would it be easier?_

He glared at her longer. Was he trying to sear her distasteful image into his mind?

After what seemed to be an eternity, he finally turned around and walked away with slow steady steps. He did not look back.

Sakura instantly knew that whatever that was between them was now over. It was so ridiculous to feel so sad for loosing something that barely even began. The pinknette stared at her feet. Her tears had stopped, she realized. Now she felt nothing. There was a void inside her, growing bigger and bigger that even the pain was gone.

Dead. She felt dead.

Smiling sadly, Sakura finally knew why sometimes _it_ was described as getting your heart stolen. Indeed, she felt the emptiness inside her heart cavity.

* * *

_If I had agreed to run away with you then, would fate be different?_

_Would we still get married?_

_Would we have children?_

_Would we still be alive, old and wrinkled?_

_Chronos is unmerciful, we can never go back_

_At least, I still got to be with you_

_For me, that is more than enough_

* * *

**_To be continued…? _**

(Word Count: 8,838; 26 pages)

* * *

**A/N: **Just grammatical edit. For some reason I can't get the underlines to show up. Grr.. Anyway, wish me luck with my thesis. Gakh. THE exam of death will be next month. I need to study like my life depended on it. Cheers!

**P.S:** Some of you left heartwarming comments and for that I am really grateful. I am glad that there are peoples who actually enjoyed reading my story. But I can't help but wondered about the others. I mean, this chapter has more than 8,800 words and 580 hits but only 20 reviews? Is it really that bad or most of you is just lazy? (scratch head) It's okay not to participate in my poll, but at least leave a comment so I know that you are reading this. The usual 0-9 rating is enough if you don't know what to write.


	8. Whispers of Sin, Part I

**Disclaimer**: Naruto and all related characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto. Opening lyrics copyrighted to katethegreat19.

**Warning**: Un-BETA-ed version. Violence. Lemon. **Be warned!**

**Note**:Thank you for all the reviews and the support! You all made me so happy! I'm sorry for the late update!

To Mariana (since you don't leave an email, I can't reply through the engine): There is a little NaruHina here (if you squint) hehe. But in arc II, Hinata hasn't been born, she's not here. I'd like to add in more couples that I like, I'll see what I can do. Their lack of appearance is because this plot is already dense, I don't want to add more to complicated things....

I had the worst case of writer's block for this chapter. I knew what to write, but I just couldn't get the words out. This is the hardest chapter I have ever written, not just because of the length, but also the theme. The chapter, I think, will be the most controversial. When you read this chapter, I want you to think hard about your own values, about what is right and wrong, and how life and love can blur the line between the two.

Now, on with the show!

* * *

_Staining my soul _

_and stinging my eyes,_

_The red on my hands _

_won't wash away… wash away…_

* * *

**Dusk**

**Arc II**

**Chapter 6 : Whispers of Sin (Part I)**

* * *

**Japan, 60 years ago**

* * *

_[St. Jeanne Catholic Church, greenhouse, late morning]_

Not once.

From her position outside the green house window, Karin was shaking. Something ugly and violent rumbles in her chest. She might have felt a little spark of the ugly feelings whenever Sasuke was talking to other girls, but the fire had never been this powerful and consuming.

Not once had Sasuke touched her the way he does to the pink haired girl.

It was obvious how much the young Uchiha wanted the pinknette. Anyone could see from the way he was holding the girl. His kisses were intense, like he was trying to devour the smaller girl, making her his.

Karin could not accept this. She was the one who like Sasuke first. She had liked him ever since the first time she met him a few years back. She had fought long and hard to finally make their parents see how much compatible she was for the young Uchiha. She had finally become his fiancée.

However, Karin was not blind. She knew that Sasuke merely agreed to the marriage because it would bring more power to his clan. He did not want her in person, no matter how many games of seduction she had tried to entice him.

But this little pink haired minx…. Had managed to do what she was still trying to do in just a matter of days. Karin clenched her fists in anger, biting her lower lips to prevent a shriek.

"Karin-sama…," the butler began uneasily, obviously disturbed by the unusual display of passion from his master to a girl he did not know. "Who… is that girl?"

"A witch," Karin hissed darkly.

Shocked, the butler's eyes widened. "A witch? That… that western girl?"

"Yes," she replied. Karin had not think that the butler would take her word as it is, but Sakura's flaming red hair and ungodly green eyes do fits the stereotype.

Blinded by her anger and jealousy, Karin had no intention of correcting the misunderstanding. The pinknette, after all, had really magically weaved her way into Sasuke's heart in a way no woman had ever done before. "Sasuke-sama has been possessed… by that girl."

"That's horrible!" exclaimed the butler. "The disease that killed all the farm animals… are they her works, too?"

Karin nodded.

Shocked, the butler's face went pale and he stumbled backwards. "We have to tell Fugaku-sama!"

"It's no use," replied Karin, now turning away from the scene beyond the dirty glass window. "Fugaku-sama already knew and his words are unable to reach Sasuke-sama."

"Then, what should we do? Sasuke-sama is in danger! The whole city is in danger!"

Karin shook her head, pretending to be helpless. "Maybe the words of one person are not enough to wake him up."

"If Fugaku-sama's word is not enough, then we tell the whole city!"

"You are right," said Karin grimly, completely betraying the feeling of victory that was in her heart. "Maybe Sasuke-sama will listen if the whole city speaks to him."

The butler nodded. "Let's go, Karin-sama!"

"You go first," said Karin. "I will warn Fugaku-sama. It is important that we separate Sasuke-sama from the witch before we talk to him."

As Karin watched the butler sped up to the city, she finally let herself smile. A wicked, winning smile.

_Check mate, you little minx. _

* * *

_[Hinoiri-gakure Streets, late afternoon]_

Bitter and angry.

Those were the emotions that dominated Sasuke on his journey back home. He was mad and disappointed. He had thought Sakura was different. He had thought she was like him, not caring about ridiculous traditions and ancient binds of a family. He assumed she believed in freedom.

He was wrong.

She was just like the rest of them. She was a liar. She led him on; letting him believed that she like him more than just a friend, and not caring about social status. She made him feels all sorts of funny emotions inside of him.

The realization caught him dumbfounded, stopping his movement and standing in the middle of the street like a statue. He glared down to the gray asphalted street.

Who was he kidding? He was the one who is lying to himself.

Of course Sakura was right. She was right about him wanting to break free from his family.

A bitter chuckle escaped his thin lips.

Sakura was not a liar. She was just being her usual selfless self. She was always thinking about others before her own happiness. She was concerned about his family, in spite of his willingness to abandon all of them.

However, she was wrong about one thing. He might have thought that leaving the town with her as a golden opportunity, but he wouldn't have been half tempted if it wasn't going to be with her. In the end, it was because he did not want to lose her, too.

Looking at the orange sky, Sasuke noticed the sun has set and it had started to get dark.

He should have not gotten angry. Judging from her expression when he was leaving, he had hurt her feelings. He needed to see her again, to straightened things out.

Deciding that he would visit the pinknette again the next day, he resumed walking his way home.

Finally reaching his house, the young Uchiha strode across the front yard and stepped into the building. He was surprised to see his father and Karin standing in the doorway, both had a grim look on their face. There are few other men standing behind the two, Sasuke recognized his butler and the family chef.

Before Sasuke could ask what was going on, his father had spoken.

"Sasuke, we have a report that many of the unfortunate events befalling this town, including the disease striking the farm animals, are all the work of a witch."

Sasuke frowned. Uchiha Fugaku was not the type to believe in such unreasonable rumors. If anything, he favors rationality above all else.

"What are you saying, Father?"

"That witch," Fugaku continued, paying his son no mind. "...is the girl you have been visiting for the past few months."

_What?_

Sasuke quickly recovered from his shock. "You've got to be joking," he said tetchily. "Sakura has nothing to do with that."

"It's true!" the butler exclaimed worriedly. "Sasuke-sama, you've been enchanted! She has bewitched you to be in love with her!"

If Sasuke was someone emotional, he would have lunged at the butler and beat some sense into him. Instead, the young Uchiha drew a few deep breaths to calm himself down. "Look," he gritted vehemently, "Listen to your self, believing in some irrational rumor. Do you honestly believe that witches exist? All of these are just a misunderstanding."

The butler went silent and Sasuke could see the others started to feel doubtful. Good. Just a few more words and everything will settle down again. "I'm sure Sakura can explain. Let us go to the church."

At that, Karin let out a loud wail. "See that? He couldn't even wait to see her again!" she sobbed, turning away and burying her head to her maid's shoulder. The maids looked surprised but pat the red head soothingly. "He has been ignoring me ever since she appears!" Karin continued to whimper. "That girl is a witch!"

"I don't care if she is a witch or not," another the gardener growled. "Ever since she came here, the town has constantly been hit by bad luck."

Sasuke had enough. "You all speak too much," he hissed venomously. "What do you have as proof?"

"We don't need proof," it was his father that spoke. "We all agreed that the church and that girl are unbeneficial for this town. She draws in the homeless, attracting disease and poverty, increasing crime. Whether she is a witch or not, she brings bad luck."

"You can't force her away," Sasuke gritted.

"We can, and we will," another voice spoke up, it was Honjou Karashima, the town mayor. He was a tall middle aged man with black hair and moustache. His face was decorated by scars he had received during his younger days serving the country as a soldier of war. "By tonight, the church and its inhabitants will be out of this town."

Sasuke stepped in front of the man challengingly, "I won't allow that."

Fugaku shook his head. "Sadly, you will be spending the rest of the evening in your room, reflecting on your bad behavior."

Sasuke turned to his father, shocked, "What?"

Two hands suddenly grabbed each of his arms tightly, and pulling him roughly further into the house. Sasuke fought back, trying to shake the two men who were holding him, but no avails. The men who were holding him were bigger and much stronger, and it was two against one. It wasn't long before he got thrown inside his room, his back hitting the wooden floor. The door was closed and locked almost simultaneously.

Sasuke was up and beating the door in an instant. "Open the door!" he shouted, "Father!"

"Stay there and cool your head, Sasuke," his father's voice came through the door.

"I can't believe you actually agree with that rumor," Sasuke growled. "You know that is not true."

He heard Fugaku sighed before replying, "In a way, she did enchant you. She has blinded you from your duties to your family. With her gone, so will the rumors around her. The Uchiha family will be untainted once again. This is for the best of our family."

Family. Family. Family. That was his father ever talked about. Sasuke felt sick.

"Why don't you forget about her, Sasuke? She's just one girl," Fugaku continued. "You will marry Karin. And then, our family will prosper for generations."

"For just… that reason?" Sasuke hissed darkly. He felt it firing his insides and rumbling his soul.

Hatred.

There was no reply from behind the door. Sasuke assumed his father had left to join the mob that was going to take down the church.

With all his might, he slammed his shoulder to the door, but it did not even quaver. "She's innocent, damn it!" the younger Uchiha shouted in frustration.

Sasuke cursed violently at his weakness.

* * *

_[St. Jeanne Catholic Church Area, late afternoon]_

When Sakura got back to the church, she was greeted by a lot of people crowding the front lane. The crowds were gathering fast and quickly increasing in number. She was about to walk closer and see what was going on when a familiar energetic voice suddenly hissed from her right side.

"Sakura-chan, hide!"

Someone grabbed her arm and pulled her behind a nearby bush, her body pressed flat on the ground. She barely caught a glimpse of the boy's orange shirt and blonde hair.

"Naruto," the pinknette hissed back, "you scared me!"

The boy with brilliant green eyes grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, sorry!"

Sakura sighed, knowing that he did not mean to scare her. Keeping her the volume of her voice down, she finally asked, "Why are we hiding?"

Naruto nodded his head towards the gathering crowds, "They are looking for you."

"Me?" the pinknette blinked in confusion. "Why?"

"They think you are some kind of a witch or something," Naruto replied grimly. "They think you are the one behind the disease strike and other bad luck these past few months."

_Huh?_

"The reverend tired to talk to them, but they won't listen…."

To say she was shocked would be an understatement. Being a foreigner, Sakura knew the townspeople did not like her that much. However, she never thought they would blame her for something so… unreasonable. The late sprouting was probably caused by the harsh change of season, and the disease possibly came from the smoke of those new transportation units had brought into the town.

"They want us out of the town tonight."

The last of Naruto's sentence suddenly caught her attention. "_Us_?" she inquired confusedly, "Who is '_us'_?"

"Everyone in the church…,"

"What?!" she shouted hotly. Naruto shushed, so she lowered the volume of her voice immediately. "That's absurd!" she was whispering now, albeit angrily. "They don't have anywhere to go! What about the children? The elders? They can't wonder around outside aimlessly in this cold weather!"

The pinknette tried to get up but Naruto's hand was firmly keeping her shoulder down, shaking his head. "Stay down, Sakura-chan! They'll hear you!"

"I don't care," the girl retorted. "I can't let everyone got dragged down when it's oblivious that the one who they have a problem with is me!"

"The old man reverend said to hide you," said Naruto firmly.

"Why?"

"They are pretty angry right now. We don't know what they'll do to you. That's what he said."

"But…"

Naruto put both of his hand on her shoulders; his striking blue eyes peered down meaningfully. "Stay here, okay Sakura-chan? We don't want you to get hurt."

"I…," she began doubtfully. Perhaps Naruto was right; it would be better to let things calm down before she present herself. But, no, she can't just hide in a safe place and let someone else do the fighting. Sakura raised her head, eyes full of determination, "I'm sorry, Naruto. I can't do that."

The pinknette gently displace the boy's hand from her shoulder. She gave him a smile, "Besides, I'm sure this is just a misunderstanding. They will understand if I explain kindly. I believe they will."

Naruto still looked doubtful, "If you say so, Sakura-chan."

"It'll be fine," the pinknette gave the boy a reassuring smile. With that, she got away from the bushes and move towards the crowds that was gathering in front of the church.

Upon seeing her approaching figure, the crowd went silent for a short second before the murmurs began.

_"She brings the disease…"_

_"She brings the rain and storms, destroying our land."_

_"A lot of people die these past few months, I thought it was because of the cold weather, but it's too much for a coincidence."_

Sakura tried not to listen to them. She walked straight to the town mayor, a tall man that was standing in front of the mass. Stopping a couple of steps before the man, she greeted pleasantly, "Mayor, I heard you are looking for me."

The mayor frowned down at her, obviously not liking her friendly attitude. "You finally decided to show up, Sakura-san."

"Please pardon me, I just got back," Sakura bowed down lightly. "But anyway, Naruto told me about your demands."

"Ah, so you know," replied the mayor, looking like a burden had been lifted off his shoulder. "Then, I suppose you also know that we want you and your friends to leave the town… tonight."

"Oh, yes, I've heard about that," Sakura smiled sweetly, like it was good news. "However….," trailing off, she stepped closer. Suddenly, her smile disappeared, replaced by a dark piercing look. "We are not going to fulfill that request," she said firmly, her tone dropped significantly.

Before anyone could follow the sudden change of mood, Sakura's menace had disappeared and the sweet smile was back again. "The weather is cold, the elder and the children would not be able to travel without a planned journey." she explained cordially. "We will stay here until we have decided on a destination."

That had somehow snapped the mayor out of his bewilderment. "This is not a bargain, Sakura-san," he said with a frown.

_'Patience. Patience.' _Sakura thought. _'Violence was never good for negotiation.'_

She tried to compromise, "At least let us stay the night. We need to plan our journey."

"No," shaking his head, the mayor sighed like he was making a very hard decision. "My decision is final."

_Patience! P-a-t-i-e-n-c-e!_

Her green eyes turned frigid, "but they the elders and the children can die because of the weather."

The mayor shrugged, as if saying that it was not a bad thing.

"Are you saying… that you don't care if they die?" she asked frostily.

'_Money-grabbing egoistic creatures!'_ Inner Sakura shouted angrily. Sakura forcefully pushed her violent side aside, reminding herself over and over again that aggression would not get her anywhere.

"We only wanted what's best for our village," said the mayor, not a tone of regret in his voice. "Homeless people are a saddle to the economy."

That was it. Whatever self-control she had left in her, the mayor's last words had completely thrown them out of the window. Like a lightning, her palm collided painfully to the mayor's cheek.

Everyone went silent.

From then on, it was too late to turn back. Breathing heavily, Sakura's green orbs burned with anger as she looked at the man in disgust. "How dare you think you are better than them!" she hissed.

Two strong arms grabbed her hands and twisted them behind her back roughly. Sakura cried out in pain and surprise.

"How dare you slap the Mayor!" growled the man who was holding her.

She knew it was wrong for her to do it, but she was angry. She was really, really angry. "Even though they are poor and homeless, they are still people!" she yelled back.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled somewhere from the crowds. Sakura could not see him because she was quickly surrounded by tall menacing looking men.

"You will regret that, little girl," the mayor said threateningly before speaking to the man that was holding her, "We will proceed as planned."

"What if they refused to leave the church?" asked the man.

"Burn the building," the mayor delivered coldly.

Sakura's eyes widened, this time in fear. "You can't do that!"

The mayor shrugged, "This district is going to be demolished anyway."

"You fiend!" Sakura yelled. She could not believe she could feel that much hate for anyone, but she did. "If anyone should die here, it should be you!"

The mayor looked scared and took a step back. He quickly turned to the man who was holding her, "Do what you wish with her. Let her be an example for the others."

"Yes, Sir!"

Sakura did not need to see the man's face to know that he was grinning.

A hard slap suddenly landed on the right side her face. Her body was twisted around by the force. She would have fallen to the ground if not for the two hands that had grabbed her arms, keeping her on her feet. A rough tug at her scalp made her whimpered in pain.

"Scum like you should be taught a lesson, witch!" growled the man giddily to her ear.

Sakura felt sick. _I'm not a witch!_

"Get me the scissors," he barked to his friends.

Sakura bit her lips, tasting blood, to prevent the tears from falling. Yes, she would hang on. She would not give these men the satisfaction of making her look miserable. She would keep her dignity. She would walk out of this humiliation with her head high.

When the first few strands of her pink hair littered the floor, Sakura could feel her eyes pricking with tears. Her inner self screamed angrily at the injustice, but her heart screamed for one person.

_Sasuke…._

* * *

_[Uchiha Estate, evening]_

Locked inside his own room like a disobedient seven year old boy, Sasuke was ashamed and angry with himself. His father treated him the same way as ten years ago when he had thrown a tantrum after discovering Itachi's disappearance. Bitterly, Sasuke realized that his father did not consider him as a grown up at all. He would always be the imperfect second son compared to his perfect older brother.

He was weak. Powerless. Sakura was in danger and he could not even get out of the house. If only he had more power….

"Humans are so weak. Don't you agree? No matter how much money and respect they've gained, they will always be hungry for more."

The young Uchiha whirled around and see the familiar white face standing in the center of his room; the man from the garden. "You," Sasuke growled, hiding his surprise.

_How did he get there?_

"Ah, just through the dimension portal," the man replied lightly. "That's how _we_ travel, you see."

Had the man read his thoughts?

Sasuke gave the man a guarded look, "What do you want?"

Pale thin lips spread into a sinister smile, "Straight to the point are you? You did not even wonder what I am."

"Hn," Sasuke know the man was not human. He did not need to state the obvious nor did he want to know about the man.

The pale man continued to study the boy interestedly, "I am looking for someone who can work for me."

Sasuke's face remained impassive, "Not interested."

The man raised his eyebrows, obviously not expecting the immediate rejection. However, his surprise was quickly replaced with amusement. "How about I tell you that I can give you powers?"

"Not interested," Sasuke repeated firmly, turning away and started examining the door behind him.

_Maybe he can pick the lock?_

The snake-like man did not give up, "I can turn you into one of us. Then, you can save your little princess."

Sasuke turned his attention back to the man. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "You've been after this since the beginning."

The snake-like man chuckles, "Does it matter? You have the potential in you, Sasuke-kun."

Like a striking lightning, Sasuke's hand met with the man's long pale neck and slammed him to the nearest wall. "Is this all your doing?!" he hissed fiercely, "Are you the one who feed lies to the public?!"

Snake-like man appears unfazed although the Uchiha heir was holding him above the ground. If anything, he looked amused. "I don't interfere with human interactions, I observe. The one who spread all those vile rumors about little Sakura-chan is none other than your own fiancée."

Not expecting his answer, Sasuke dropped the man to the ground. The truth was so easy it was unbelievable that he did not see it before. The citizen would not listen to the word of just anybody. Karin is the future Uchiha matriarch, she definitely has the influence. She also has the perfect motive.

"Jealousy is indeed a vile emotions," the man made an articulate gesture of straitening his wrinkled robe. "But only human can make it so destructive." The man raised his silted yellow eyes, smiling mysteriously, "How about it, Sasuke-kun? Do you accept my offer?"

Sasuke did not have an answer for that. He did not trust the man, but he honestly could not say no to his offer either.

"Don't you want to save your princess?" the man let out a fake sigh. "She's calling for you."

The man wave a hand towards the center of the room, and suddenly a ghostly transparent image of Sakura appeared.

Sasuke stared at her image. Something stirred in him as he took in her condition.

She looked terrible, like a prisoner. Her hands were tied behind her back. Her pink locks were messily short like it has been cut jaggedly. Her eyes were hidden behind her bangs.

And then, he heard her voice,_ 'It hurts… so much.'_

Sasuke hated to admit it, but his stomach churned at the pain in her voice.

_'How long do I have to feel this pain? Why am I still alive? I want this to be over….'_

He was telling himself that the image might just be an illusion created by the snake-like man. Sakura might still be safe and unharmed.

_'Oh, that's right,' _her tone suddenly became affectionate; Sasuke could hear the smile in her voice. _'I wish… I can see him once more…. before I die.'_

Clenching his fists, Sasuke tried to hold back. He repeated in his head again that the image was just an illusion.

"Listen to her," the snake-like man jeered. "She needs you."

_'Sasuke-kun…,' _Sakura's ghost raised her head looking at his direction but not actually seeing him. A single tear escaped her emerald eyes. And then, she faded.

Sasuke mentally felt an ice spear cut his insides. "Sakura!" he shouted, a hand reached out to her but she had already disappear.

"You might want to hurry up," Snake-like man grinned. "She doesn't have much time left."

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something when there was knocking at the door.

"Sasuke, are you in there?" a man called from behind the door.

Sasuke recognized that voice, "… Kakashi?"

The teacher sounded relieved. "Good, I'll get you out of there. Just hold on, I'll look for the keys."

"Kakashi, what happened out there?" asked the Uchiha heir, walking closer to the door.

"Madness," Kakashi replied. "You've got to stop them. Your father won't do anything."

Sasuke could hear his teacher went away from the door. He made sure that Kakashi was out of earshot before turning back to snake-like man. "I won't become your puppet. Leave."

The man sighed, "You will realize, Sasuke-kun. There is a limit to what a human can do."

There is a tinkering sound of key chains and a heavy 'click' from the door. Kakashi entered the room just as snake-like man disappeared into thin air.

"Were you talking to somebody?" asked Kakashi, eyeing the room suspiciously.

Sasuke shook his head, "Let's go."

The two of them left the room and quickly out of the house. As he sped down the streets, Sasuke tried to pay no attention to a cold sinister voice that was whispering in his head:

_'If you changed your mind, just call this Orochimaru….'_

* * *

_[St. Jeanne Catholic Church, living room, sunset]_

It was clear for Sakura that she would not walk out of this with her held high and a proud smile when they began to tie her body on a wooden pole surrounded with dry straw smelled of kerosene.

No… she would not get out of this at all. They have the very intention of killing her.

And she would die.

She would die in agony and pain and humiliation.

When the fire started, she could not deny the fear that instantly grabbed her heart.

The straws burn fast, fed by the oil. In less than a minute, she could already feel the burning pain on her skin.

She swallowed her screams at first, with a little bit of pride she still has left within her. She would deny those men their pleasure, even for just one second longer.

_'It hurt… so much.' _The fire was spreading. She could feel it on her feet. She could feel it on her face. She could feel it everywhere… even inside.

She screamed loud. She screamed until her chest hurts, but the pain still worsened. She screamed and screamed and screamed until she felt her mouth burning. From lack of air or from the fire she did not know.

_'How long do I have to feel this pain? Why am I still alive? I wanted this to be over…'_

She could feel herself finally losing. She could not hold on any longer. What made her hold on, anyway? Why does she need to withstand so much fear?

_Oh, that's right. _She was smiling now, even though she could not feel her lips anymore. She could not even feel anything other than the pain.

_'I wish… I can see him once more…. before I die.'_

Pain. Pain was everywhere.

Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop.

_'Sasuke-kun….'_

The pain stopped.

* * *

_[St. Jeanne Catholic Church Area, sunset]_

The church was still a few blocks away but Sasuke can already see the smoke, an ominous feeling instantly came upon him. Sasuke cursed and ran faster.

"What are they going to do to her?" the Uchiha heir asked his teacher.

Kakashi did not reply, but the Uchiha knew it was not because the older man did not know the answer.

"Tell me!"

"When I left," the silver haired man began, "they were gathering dry straw…."

_No…_ Sasuke dismissed his train of thoughts. What he needed now is a cool head. "What about the people from the church?"

"The Reverend is being shipped back to England as we speak. The others tried to fight but they were outnumbered."

If Sasuke could run faster, he would have done so. They were getting closer, just one turn away. At that point he could finally see the source of the black smoke coming from the church. Something was burning inside the church.

Sasuke saw his father but he ignored the older man. He walked straight to the crowd that was gathering at the small clearing in front of the building, leaving Kakashi somewhere behind. Eleven big muscled men were forming a line. Two other men were holding a blonde boy who was trashing around in anger. Sasuke spotted Honjo and sped up to him.

"Where is Sakura?" the Uchiha heir demanded in a tone that would not tolerate nonsense.

The man look startled. "Sasuke-sama! How did you get here?"

Sasuke grabbed man by the front of his shirt and slammed him to the nearest wall. It was almost funny how the bigger man seemed so small in the face of an Uchiha's wrath. "I don't want your bullshit. Tell me where she is!"

"Inside the church! She is inside the church!" the blonde boy shouted, "Let me go you bastards!"

_Inside… the church?_

"Murderer!" A woman screamed from the crowds. "You are all murderers!"

Sasuke had not even realized that he had released Honjou and was running into the church. He had only one thing in his mind.

_Get to Sakura. _

"Sasuke!" Uchiha Fugaku shouted, but Sasuke paid him no mind.

Inside the church, fire had caught the curtains and burned the wooden floor.

_Where is she?_

"Sakura!" he shouted loudly. No one answered him.

He needed to move. The floor under his feet would not be able to hold on much longer. Suddenly, a loud heavy thump interrupted his thoughts. The sound came from the living room that was to his right. One look and Sasuke knew that the room was the origin of all the fire.

The ominous feeling was back, but Sasuke had no time to feel. He dashed into the room.

What he saw, would forever be ingrained in his mind.

A black and burned body tied to a wooden pole was on the ground, surrounded by burning hay. He could see a cooper locket hanging from its neck.

_No…._

_No!_

Sasuke did not even realize that he had fallen to his knees.

Her voice was still clear and fresh in his mind:

_'I wish… I can see him once more…. before I die.'_

He was too late.

If only he had more power, he could have come sooner.

He should have come sooner.

He should have…

…

… No.

It's _them_. Their fault.

It's all their fault.

He will kill them. He will kill them all.

The word emerged from inside his chest. Boiling and rumbling with anger. The force shook his entire body.

_"Orochimaru!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"_

* * *

_Sickly yellow eyes with narrow black pupils blinked open._

_A sinister smile pulled his lips apart._

_"I know you'll come around, Sasuke-kun."_

* * *

_[St. Jeanne Catholic Church Area, on top of the building across the street]_

Kakashi observed the commotion grimly.

He was too late.

He could no longer feel Sakura's presence.

In the end, even releasing Sasuke was not enough to save her.

Sometimes, Kakashi wished he could hate the humans as much as Orochimaru do. Humans could be so violent and evil sometimes. It was hard to believe he was once one of those humans.

Beside him, Naruto was having a hard time holding himself back. The boy was clenching and gritting his teeth so hard. He was shaking.

"Why did you pull me away? We have to save Sakura-chan!" the angry boy shouted at him.

Kakashi shook his head, "Saving her means direct contact. We have to use our powers."

Naruto cursed loudly. "Sakura-chan didn't deserve to die!"

"Her time has come. We can't interfere with her fate," Kakashi replied grimly, partly because he also wished he could save the pinknette. "We are not allowed to use our powers to solve any human affair, Naruto. It would disturb the balance."

Naruto opened his mouth like he was about to retort.

Kakashi quickly cut him off. "What would you do with that many witnesses? Erase the entire city?"

Naruto clamped his mouth shut. "No, that would be wrong," he finally said bitterly. To be honest, Naruto selfishly would not mind. They were just some humans. However, that would make him no better than Orochimaru.

Kakashi nodded solemnly in agreement.

Suddenly, the silver haired man froze. A cold chilled feeling tickled his instincts. His head snapped towards the direction of the church.

He knew this presence.

Naruto clearly felt it, too. "Kakashi-sensei," the boy began ominously.

Kakashi's eyes did not stray from the church. "Someone is disturbing the boundaries._"_

Naruto stiffened.

_A Devourer is about to be born…._

* * *

_[St. Jeanne Catholic Church, inside]_

The Snake Sannin appeared almost instantly. Sasuke did not like the wicked smile on the man's sickly white face.

"You changed your mind rather quickly, Sasuke-kun," said Orochimaru calmly.

Sasuke gave a low impatient growl, "Just let's get this over with."

The man tsk-ed, "Just making sure, my boy. You can't be a Devourer if you still have some human feelings left in you."

"Devourers.... Is that what you call your kind?"

Orochimaru chuckled amusedly, "Devourers. Soul Eaters. Death Bringers. The Sinners. We are all of those. We are the highest being, the most powerful. Human souls are the source of our energy."

There was a bright flash, and a katana appeared in Orochimaru's hand. "This is Kusanagi. There are some of us who prefers using their bare hands for extracting souls, but I'd rather keep my hands clean."

The Snake Sannin turned the sharp end of the sword to himself. Sasuke's eyes went wide. Orochimaru ram the blade cleanly through the center of his own torso. The Sannin gave a pained hiss but his expression was in bliss. Slowly, he pulled the blade out. A dark purple mist leaked out of his torso, swirling around the blade. The Sannin brought the tip of his blade to Sasuke's mouth.

"Drink it."

Sasuke eyed the purple substance coolly and calculatingly, "If I drink this, will I have to follow your orders?"

"Clever boy," Orochimaru chuckled. "No. You will still have your own will, but your soul will always be tied to mine. I will always know where you are."

"Hn."

"But it doesn't matter, does it?" said the Snake Sannin smoothly. "You can still have your revenge."

Revenge. Sasuke could feel how tempting that was. He could avenge Sakura's death. But he was not stupid enough to completely believe in what Orochimaru tell him. Sasuke was sure that The Snake Sannin had his own agenda. Being tied to such man, was it worth the revenge?

Orochimaru sensed his hesitation and said, "With your new powers, you can have your princess back."

Lifting his obsidian eyes to the Snake Sannin, one could almost miss the slight surprise on Sasuke's face. "Don't mess with me. Sakura is dead," Sasuke spat.

"Oh, it's the truth," The Sannin chuckled amusedly. "Human bodies can die, but their soul will persist in a higher planes. If you can find her soul before she crossed the borders between the planes, you can still turn her into one of us. You can even make her a new body. It's illegal, and the price is high. But it can be done."

The Sannin did not look like he was lying. However, Sasuke was still suspicious. "What is the price?" he asked warily.

Instead of answering, the Sannin mocked, "Why do you hesitate, Sasuke-kun? Do you still have qualms about leaving your human life?"

The Uchiha's obsidian eyes flared. As if to prove his point, he grabbed the blade, the sharp edge cut his skin and drew blood from the wound. "I have no interest in weak creatures," he deadpanned. Sasuke drank the dark substance along with his blood.

"That's right," Orochimaru laughed sinisterly. "That's right!"

Swallowing the dark devourer soul was like swallowing a thousand needles. Sasuke fell down to his knees, but he refused to scream. The needles were alive. They slithered, down to the tips of his toes and behind his eyes. Moving in rapid speed, they were rearranging something within him. He felt his insides being cut apart, something was being ripped from him. Removed. Permanently.

All he saw was red. Red dark swirl, the color of blood. Voices after voices slammed into his mind so suddenly – low voices, high-pitched voices, soft whispers, agonizing screams, fading echoes…. sometimes distant and sometimes close. He could hear the past, things he had already forgotten. He could hear the future. Events so foreign… and yet familiar at the same time.

_"Sasu…ke…-kun?"_

It was her voice that was most clear to him.

_"Sasuke-kun, can't we be friends?"_

Her bright eyes and smiles.

_"It makes you think you want to be a good person too, right Sasuke-kun?"_

Their feelings that have yet to be comprehended….

_"I do feel it… this something between us."_

Her words that have yet to be conveyed…

_"I didn't mean it in that way…."_

Her wish that have yet to be fulfilled...

"_I wish… I can see his face once more… before I died."_

Dark red swirl, burning fire, and her screams.

The light hurts. He needed to get away from the lights.

Black. Void… and empty. Black…. is good. It is where he belonged from now on.

_"Time to wake up, Sasuke-kun."_

His eyes snapped open. They were bright malicious red.

* * *

_"How does it feel, Sasuke-kun? Not being a human anymore?"_

* * *

_[St. Jeanne Catholic Church Area, front lane]_

"Sasuke-samaaaaaa!" Karin screamed when she saw Sasuke entered the burning buliding.

The crowd went silent they heard Karin's scream; soon they knew that the Uchiha heir had went into the building. Everyone watched the church entrance, thick tension hung in the air.

"Sasuke!" Fugaku called, but his son ignored him.

"Don't go in there, Fugaku-sama!" said Honjou, holding the Uchiha patriarch back.

"We need to save my son!" Fugaku bellowed. Never in the town's eyes had that the man they considered with respect lost his cool. In the end, the Head of the Uchiha clan was still a human father.

Honjou shook his head, "That's impossible! The whole building is about to collapse!"

There was a loud crack and the whole entrance into the building crash.

"No!" Karin and Fugaku shouted at the same time. "It wasn't supposed to be this way!" Karin sobbed.

They all looked at the church in horror. The consequences of their action finally slapped them hard in the face.

There was another crack, and the entrance exploded.

All eyes widened when they noticed the tall and dark figure that walked steadily out of the fiery chaos. It was Uchiha Sasuke. He was unscathed, not a single burn or scratch was on him. As he walked, it looked that the fire could not touch him. His black suit shone like anew.

"Sasuke!" shouted Fugaku. He was the first one who got near his son. "Don't you ever do such an idiotic thing again!"

Looking at his father in silent, Sasuke smiled. It was a cold, sinister, smile. "You won't have to worry about such things ever again… _Father_."

Fugaku looked confused when his son put a palm in front of his face.

Sasuke's eyes shone bright red for one instant.

"Disappear."

* * *

_"One thousand human souls. _

_That is the catalyst you need to create a new body for your beloved, Sasuke-kun._

_Quite a fair price for such a pure-hearted angel, isn't it?"_

_"Hn."_

* * *

**To be continued in Part II**

* * *

**.::End Note::.**

Keeping this note short, I hope you like the chapter. I'm sorry I can't squeeze in more interactions between KakaSasu and NaruSaku without loosing focus of the chapter. I hope you checked my fanart which link is in my profile. And, I'm looking for a beta-reader (PM if you're interested).

Regarding my late update, it's not that I don't have the time… more like I don't have the energy to do anything creative for the past few months. Life has been busy.

And as you can see, the chapter is being split into two parts. One reason is because I want to give sometime for all the new things to sink in before we are going further into the story. The second reason is because I think the next part is not quite ready yet. I still need to proofread and maybe add some more scene (that is where the lemon will be haha). It will be up early next week, so until then, please leave a review of what you think so far.

**REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!**

I'll be honest, don't just read! Review! Let me know what you think! I need to know how I am doing, and if the story is worth continuing! Writing without feedback doesn't really get exciting because I don't know who is reading this.


	9. Whispers of Sin, Part II

**Disclaimer**: Naruto and all related characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**Warning**: un-BETA-ed version. Violence. Lemon. **Be aware of your age. **This sign (~*~) marks the beginning and the end of the mature part.

**Notes:** Thank you for the reviews!!! I think I had the biggest response in a short term from the last chapter. Surprisingly, no one wants to kill me for killing Sakura (probably because we all know she will be back). Yes, what Sasuke did was twisted and wrong, but not like we can really blame him.

* * *

_There is no such things as good or bad,_

_only humans make it so._

* * *

**Dusk**

**Chapter 6**

**Whispers of Sin**

**(Part II)**

* * *

**Japan, 60 years ago**

* * *

_[St. Jeanne Catholic Church Area, on top of the building across the street]_

Uchiha Fugaku's body cracked and then burst into a million pieces.

Kakashi cursed. He had not expected that the young Uchiha would kill his own father.

"Shit! Kakashi-sensei, we've got to stop him!" Naruto yelled out. "He's going for the others!"

The silver haired man cursed once more before he too, preparing himself for a jump. However, a familiar voice suddenly stopped all of his movement.

"Unfortunately, I can't let you do that, Kakashi."

Kakashi whirled around, narrowing his one eye dangerously at the familiar pale face.

"Orochimaru…," Naruto growled.

The snake sannin looked unfazed by their hositility. On the contrary, he was leaning against the wall, his yellow silted eyes glowing elatedly. "Our Sasuke-kun will let nothing stand in his way, not even the two of you. He is determined to get his beloved back."

"What?" Kakashi eyes widened. "Soul Resurrection… You told him?" asked Kakashi disbelievingly.

"But, but, but.. that's a taboo!" the boy beside him protested immidiately.

"And do you think he care?" Orochimaru waved his hands towards the streets.

Kakashi looked down grimly.

The sight was unearthy. Never before the silver haired men saw a masacre so dreadful and beautiful at the same time. Down the streets, Sasuke was moving as fast as lightning and gracefully, like he was dancing. His deadly katana pierced one human after another, leaving a path of silver whisps and multicolor light fragments.

"Sasuke-kun doesn't care about those humans anymore," said Orochimaru in satisfication.

"But Sakura-chan would care!" Naruto argued. "What the hell was the _Teme_ thinking about?!"

The Snake Sannin chuckled, "Let us see, shall we? Whether she love him enough to discard her own humanity."

* * *

_[The Bridge between Lands of Consciousness]_

All Sakura see when she woke up was abyss black. It was so dark, she could not even see her own fingers.

Sakura did not remember how she had gotten to this place. When she tried to recall her last memory, her head started pounding. She remembered her fight with Sasuke and her journey home, but the rest of her memory was just blank.

Somebody called her name, up from the absolute dark sky. A voice so soft and gentle, Sakura almost did not hear it. She recognized that voice.

Looking up to see a single glittering star, the pinknette whispered in awe, "Mother?"

She tried to listed harder, but the voice was too faint. "I can't hear you," she called out to the star.

The voice seemed to get a little closer as the star grew larger.

"Go with you?" the pinknette asked in confusion, "Where?"

A different, deeper voice suddenly came from behind. The voice was clearer and stronger; echoing. It was deeper, masculine. The familiarity made something inside her ache. A warm flicker of hope bloomed inside her heart.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura looked over her shoulder, losing concentration on her mother's voice. The star went farther away, but she did not notice.

Hearing his voice, Sakura realized how much she missed him. She felt foolish, longing for his presence like a love sick twelve year old girl. It had not even been a day since the last she saw him. But she could no longer deny that she needed him. She needed to see him.

For the first time, Sakura felt scared of the dark abyss around her. What if they missed each other because they can't see? Before she realized, she had started running towards the source of his voice. "Sasuke-kun!" she shouted frantically. "Where are you?"

Then, she saw him. Her eyes lit as she took in his approaching figure. He was really here. He was looking for her.

Before she could reach out to him, Sasuke's arm had went around her waist and pulled her hard against his chest. She gasped in surprise, but a smile quickly appeared on her face. Closing her eyes, she breathed deeply, taking in his scent of storm and fire.

"Sasuke-kun," she sighed.

"From now on," he lowered his lips so he was speaking directly to her ear. "Nothing will stand in our way."

The cold malice in his voice sent shivers down her spine. She pulled away and looked into his eyes. "What do you mean?"

It was then that she noticed that something was different with him. The air around him had changed. Before, he had always been cold and impassive, but now he looked completely detached.

_No…. _

Inhumane would be a more suitable word.

Her instincts were subconsciously screaming a warning. Something was wrong. Something bad.

Searching his eyes, she gave a concerned look. "Sasuke-kun, what…. What's going on?"

"They killed you," he replied, his crimson colored orbs were burning.

"Killed me?" she whispered slowly, alert. She stepped back unsurely.

_Then, why am I here?_

Suddenly everything slammed back into her memory. She remembered the pain of her burns. She remembered her screams. She remembered the agony.

"Stop!" Sakura cried out and fell down to her knees. She could not take anymore.

No more…. No more pain.

A pair of strong hands grabbed her shoulders and shook her awake from the violent flashbacks. "Sakura!" Sasuke shouted commandingly.

She grabbed him, buried her face to his chest, and held on tightly as if he was her sanity. She panted harshly, eyes opened wide in horror. "The pain…. Sasuke-kun."

"They won't hurt you again," he pledged. "I won't let them."

It might have because of her state of panic, but Sakura almost could not understand Sasuke's words. "I am dead," she whispered delicately, completely ignoring his oath. "I am dead," she repeated, this time in disbelief.

_Dead. _

_She was dead._

_They killed her._

_Burned her alive._

_Dead. Dead. Dead._

_But then…_

_Why is he here?_

Pulling away quickly, she looked at him worriedly. "Why are you here, Sasuke-kun? You can't be here…. Unless you died, too! Please tell me they didn't…."

"No," he interrupted firmly.

The relief was apparent in her green eyes. "Thank God."

Sasuke then pulled her up so she stood on her feet. "I came to take you back."

"Back?"

"Yes."

"H-how?"

"We will become more than mere humans." Sasuke looked serious. He really knew what he was talking about.

_More than humans?_

The pinknette shook her head, "I don't understand."

"Someone gave me power," he replied tonelessly. "To get out of my confines as human, so I can bring you back."

Sakura stared back at him with wide eyes. She was scared by the things he was talking about. She did not know why. Shaking her head, she took a step back uncertainly. "Bring back? Sasuke-kun…."

His hands were suddenly grabbed her arms tightly; crimson eyes stared intensely down at her. It took almost all of Sakura's strength not to turn away from the pressure.

"We don't need to be human, Sakura," he began, "This way, nothing can hurt you anymore. Nothing can pull us down. Not the society. Not our duties. Nothing."

She tried to pull away from his painful grip, but he would not let go. "But Sasuke…" she hesitated.

Sensing her hesitation, Sasuke impatiently asked, "Don't you want to come with me?"

She froze, staring up at him in shock. "Of course I do!"

"Then, this is the only way. You don't have a body anymore."

The truth left a bitter feeling inside her mouth. It had a waking effect upon her thoughts. Her doubts disappeared almost instantly, she could not remember the reason behind her insecurity. There seemed to be nothing more important than having a second chance with the man in front of her.

_Being with Sasuke-kun…_

She had denied that chance before, in exchange for her conscience and his duty. Look at where she had ended up because of that. The pinknette close her eyes. Something inside her screamed that she was about to do something really wrong. However…

_Being with Sasuke-kun… is more important._

It was her voice that rang inside the darkness abyss, clear and firm. Her hand reached for his, clasping their fingers together. Her eyes met his, full of determination.

"Take me with you."

That was the words that finally sealed her fate.

* * *

_[Unknown Deserted Land]_

When Sakura opened her eyes for the second time, she could see the sky. The sky was grey and cloudy, she could feel tiny bits of raindrops upon her face. The grey horizon stretched for miles, as far as she could see. She briefly wondered where she was and how did she get to be in such an empty wasteland. There was no house, no streets, and not even a single living being.

A hand went around her back, propping her up to a sitting position. The hand belonged to Sasuke. He held her in such a way that she could not see past his shoulder, like he was trying to shield her from the world.

Some people were talking; it had just registered into her mind. She focused her attention to the pensive conversation.

"You overdid it, Sasuke-kun," a sinister slithering voice bought her attention. "When I said one thousand, I didn't expect you to devour the whole city."

No answer came from the man that was holding her. Sakura wiggled, trying to see his face. "Sasuke-kun?" she called to him timidly.

Sasuke relaxed his hold and finally allowing her to sit on her own, but still refused to let her go completely. She leaned her body back towards his chest; her hand found his and squeezed reassuringly.

Sakura looked around, finding herself inside a circle made by three tall men. One of them was Naruto. The other was a silver-haired who was wearing a dark olive long coat. The last member of the group looked like a kabuki artist, his face was pale as snow and his hair was as long as hers used to be.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed delightfully when he saw her sitting up. The blonde teen step forward and quickly kneeled in front of her, "Are you alright, Sakura-chan? Do you feel okay?"

"I'm fine, Naruto," Sakura smiled at his concern. She turned to the rest of the group, her eyes finally settled on Sasuke. He was shooting a disapproving glare towards Naruto, but he did not say anything.

"Where are we?" she finally asked.

Naruto fell silent at her question. Sasuke and the silver-haired man stiffened. However, the pale man was smiling a sinister smile.

"What's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

Sasuke stared at her with unreadable eyes. "This is Hinoiri-gakure," he finally replied impassively.

She blinked, "What?"

Gray earth and dead wasteland. It could not be…..

The pale man chuckled in dark amusement, "Yes, Sakura-chan. Sasuke-kun exchanged the whole town to bring you back. Hinoiri-gakure doesn't exist anymore… or rather… it never exists."

Sakura froze. _The price for her second chance…. Is the whole town?_

Her eyes searched Sasuke's for a confirmation. She could not believe he could do such thing. What about his family? Did he exchange them too? For her?

His silence provided the answer. It was then it finally hit her that they were not human anymore…. neither was the rest of the group.

She did not realize that she was shaking until Sasuke pulled her tightly against him. She titled her head back to meet his gaze. "What… are we going to do now?" she whispered softly.

He did not reply right away, but when he finally spoke, it was just a single deadpanned word. "Live."

"Sasuke," the silver-haired man finally spoke, "I'll try to talk to the Kage and the elders to see if they can pardon the two of you."

"The society won't accept them," the pale-man snickered. "Sasuke broke a cardinal rule, and Sakura's existence is already a taboo. If you say anything, they will hunt them down, like me."

Sasuke's eyes flashed red and he pulled the pinknette closer to him. "We don't need the society," he said firmly.

"That's right," the pale man concurred. "Sasuke-kun will come with me."

"Sasuke, you stupid!" yelled Naruto. "You don't know what that sick can do to you and Sakura-chan!"

"No one will touch Sakura," the Uchiha growled threateningly.

The silver-haired man frowned. He did not like it, but the snake Sannin was probably right. The elders were pretty hard headed. "This is a mess," the silver-haired man sighed before turning to Sasuke. "I don't like it, but it's safer for you to say with Orochimaru for now."

Naruto tried to protest, "But, Kakashi-sensei! He is a criminal!"

"Exactly," replied Kakashi, "He'd been successfully hiding from the society for ages."

"I see that we've reached an agreement," Orochimaru chuckled; his yellow pupils glinted predatorily when he set his yes upon Sasuke and Sakura.

Sakura immediately did not like the pale skinned snake-like man.

Kakashi walked to Sasuke and whispered, "Be on your guard. Orochimaru's intentions were never pure. When you understand the basic of survival, try to make it on your own."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted in reply.

The silver-haired man turned to Sakura who was looking at him with wide fearful eyes. "Take care now, Sakura," he offered a warm smile, his eye that was not covered with an eye patch crinkled.

Sakura blinked, not expecting such friendliness from someone she barely knew. But the man looked genuinely concerned, and he seemed to know Sasuke. She nodded slowly in return.

Kakashi nodded back before raising a hand and opened a dark portal out of thin air. "Let's go, Naruto," he said while walking into the portal. The blonde boy grumbled but he followed the man nonetheless. "I'll save you, Sakura-chan, don't worry!" he yelled before disappearing along with the dark portal.

"Dobe," Sasuke muttered under his breath.

"They disappeared!" Sakura was shocked. Although she already know that they were not humans, it was still hard to accept anything like that.

Soon after, Orochimaru also raised his hand and conjured a dark portal. "We should also make a move."

Sasuke rose to his feet, bringing Sakura with him.

Sakura put her hand on his shoulder, "Sasuke-kun, I can walk."

He looked at her as if asking if she was sure. Sakura gave a smile.

He let her down.

They stepped into the dark tunnels that led towards unknown land. Orochimaru lead the way while Sasuke was walking a couple of steps in front of her.

Sakura took one last look towards the deserted wasteland. Something heavy weighted inside her chest, but Sakura tried not to think about it too much. After all, this is her second chance. This is her choice.

Her hand reached for Sasuke's.

* * *

_[Tunnel's End, Orochimaru's Lair]_

The hideout was deep underground with a dark labyrinth of tunnels. Shadows danced eerily across the stone walls as fire swayed on small yellow candles. The air was stale and humid, smelling strongly of wet earth. It took only a few seconds for Sakura to get an uneasy feeling just by being inside the place. Sasuke's grip was tight around her wrist, a constant reminder that there was no turning back. They have made their choices and it was time to deal with them.

Their bedroom, as Sakura first entered the chamber, held the same atmosphere as the tunnels; dark and dimly lit with candles.

Sasuke stood in the middle of the room, observing the minimum furniture that had been placed inside the chamber. A big four poster bed stood in the middle of the floor, covered with crimson sheet. There was a wooden table beside their bed with no chair. There were no windows, because they were underground. The only source of air was a small chute at each corner of the room. She could hear the wind whistling through the narrow hole.

When his eyes finally met hers, Sakura found that she could not look away. His onyx eyes showed no emotions and his face was expressionless. His obsidian orbs bore a deeper abyss with more intensity after he had become a devourer. Before, his apathy had scared her, but now she could not help but getting pulled by the hypnotic dark elegance he possessed.

Going along with the urge, the pinknette approached him slowly. When they were close enough, her hands reached first towards his black shirt, clutching the materials within her fists.

He tugged the nape of her hair, and she tilted her head up obediently.

Her heart, if she still has one, seemed to pound faster and louder. She remembered the last time they had been together alone inside the green house and could feel her cheeks warmed. Sakura closed her eyes.

What Sasuke did next surprised her: he let her go briskly, as if he was burned. The pinknette stared at him dumbfounded as the Uchiha walked away towards the exit door.

Rejection.

It left an anxious feeling in her heart and millions of scenarios spinning in her head. She wondered why he does not want her anymore. She wondered if becoming a devourer had also gotten rid of his feelings for her. Or maybe, his feelings might have not been there in the first place. He brought her back to life probably because he felt guilty for her death, not because he…. Stopping that train of thought, Sakura wondered since when did she believe that he loved her. He certainly had never said the word.

Sasuke paused at the door frame, and without looking back to her, he said, "get some rest." His back disappeared behind the closed door.

_He is leaving…_

A wrenching pain twisted inside her chest agonizingly. Without realizing, she had torn the door open, running after him. Her hand reached out and grabbed one sleeve of his shirt.

Jerked backwards, his eyes widened in surprised. He tried to pull his arm away but she refused to let go.

"Sakura?"

A slight hope budded inside her chest at the way he called her name. It sounded the same as before. His voice was smooth and impassive, but her name rumbled from inside his chest, deeper than his usual speech.

The pinknette shook her head. She could have said something, but words seemed not enough to express fully how she felt. Guilt, remorse, fear, anxiety, loneliness, and longing… all was mixed together making her whole body shook. With unknown strength, she tugged hard on his arm. At the same time, she stood on her tiptoes and crashed her lips to his.

His body froze at her sudden action.

His lips tasted like blood, silky warm and tasted like metal. Her tongue slipped out, teasing and coaxing him to participate. When she felt him relaxed, she pulled away slightly, their lips barely apart. "Don't leave me," she whispered breathily.

Without warning, his hand grabbed both of her arms and forcefully pulled her body to his. "Never," he growled possessively. And then, his lips devoured hers with newfound hunger.

Sakura's eyes widened in shocked before closing slowly in relief.

_He still wants her._

Soon, Sasuke was nipping and biting at her bottom lip. Sakura opened her mouth easily for him. His tongue slipped in and she moaned softly, hands abandoned his chest and went around his neck instead, pulling him closer, kissing him back.

Her back suddenly met the cold stonewall inside their bedroom. She tore away from his mouth, gasping loudly, "Sasu—"

Grabbing her chin, his hand pulled her mouth back to his into another head-reeling kiss. Lips meshed against lips. His tongue roamed the cavern of her mouth hotly, their teeth clanking together. His hand was everywhere, caressing her sides, tracing lazy patterns on her inner thighs, dragging up her spine, and finally met with her breast. She moaned hoarsely into his mouth. Blinded by lust, her tongue slipped out, challenging his into a battle. He slanted his mouth to hers, tongue moving with hers, their saliva mixing lusciously.

When she finally won and was rewarded the entry into his cavern, he sucked the pink appendage roughly and wetly. Her knees buckled. He grabbed both of her thighs, spreading her legs wide and warping them around his hips. Small bursts of desire electrocuted her body, making her lower region clenched painfully, and left her breathless. "Nngh-"she mewled huskily and tried retracting her tongue, but he would not let go.

A while later, between his consuming kisses, Sakura found she was getting dizzy and running out of air. She could not breathe properly. They had somehow moved from the wall and were lying on the bed, him on top of her. His chest was pressing down powerfully, crushing her frame to the soft mattress.

Pushing hard to his shoulders, she tried lifting him off, but he would not budge. Her hands rose to the back of his head, grabbing fistful of his black hair, and tugged hard. She hoped the pain would bring him back to his senses a little. What happened next was completely the opposite. He gripped each hip bone, aligning her core to his throbbing erection, growling sharply as he pushed her to him with force.

She whimpered weakly, eyes rolled to the back of her head, suffocated by the lack of air and the cloud of lust that had dulled all her rationality. "Sasuke-"she finally managed to pull away from his mouth, but that was when he started to pay attention to the pulse on her neck. His other arm tugged hard into her short red gown, ripping the fabric off her shoulder.

"Sa- Sasuke-kun!" she gasped loudly. "W-wait!"

"No," he growled huskily to her shoulder and gave her another rough nip. "More…" His was grinding faster and then slower before increasing his pace again, mocking and teasing. His arousal was hot and hard against her throbbing folds. Their clothes added more friction into the movement.

"Uhhnn…," she whimpered. She was flooding; her essence drenched the front of her panties and his pants. "Ah… Sasu…ke…" Sakura whispered breathlessly, her cheeks flushed violently. Her eyes opened half-lidded.

"Hm?" he hummed into her neck. He dragged his hands along the side of her waist, pushing her gown and bra up to her shoulders.

Sakura did not have time to feel embarrassed. When his mouth met her nipple and stared sucking, she moaned wantonly and threw her head back. Her nails dug into his shoulder, trying to gain back a grasp of reality. "Nnn… Sasuke-kun…. Aahnnn-!"

Tears sprang into her eyes involuntarily. The pleasure was too much. "Sasuke….," she whimpered pleadingly. She wanted him… his body, his soul, his heart. And she wanted him to have hers. "Please…."

The movement of his hips slowed down and he lifted his head. Their forehead touched in one quiet moment, their eyes closed. Her body was still shaking with desire because he had stopped so suddenly. She was wet and throbbing in need.

"I want you," he declared, his voice heavily coated with unadulterated longing.

It was then she understood. When he pulled away from her touch, it was not because he did not want her anymore. He was holding back. Did he think she was blaming him for her death?

Just then, she decided that it did not matter. It did not matter how many rules she was breaking. It did not matter that she ate the forbidden apple. It did not matter if he did not return her feelings.

She decided to be with him.

Sakura lifted a hand and caressed his cheek affectionately, her emerald eyes shone with acceptance. "Take me," she whispered tenderly.

His hand gripped the sheets, as if it was the last of his control. "You do realize… I won't let you take that back," he gritted his teeth tightly.

She smiled at that. "That's fine," her hands went down his sides and stopped at the hem of his pants, a silent promise. "I'm yours. Forever."

"Good," Sasuke growled. He wasted no time by tearing her dress off her body. "Good," he repeated hoarsely before slanting his lips to hers again in an open mouthed kiss.

Their passion came back, even more powerful than before. His hand found her panties and jerked the soaked articles down to her ankles. Sakura moaned approvingly. Her hands on his pants moved to the front, working on his button and zipper. When it was opened, Sasuke all but kicked his pants and boxers to the floor. His shirt joined the group soon after.

~*~

Lifting one of her legs to his shoulder, Sasuke's hand found the sopping wet folds between her legs and without warning; he inserted a long finger inside her.

"Ah!" She threw her head back, moaning loudly, "Sa… Sasuke!"

He stroked her deeply with an agonizingly slow pace. His eyes turned crimson red as the girl continued to moan and writhe beneath him. Sticky essence coated his fingers, driving him over the edge of insanity. "You are so wet, Sakura," he smirked darkly.

"I know that," she panted, her cheeks flushed prettily. "Just… Ahn!"

"Just what?" He thrust his fingers faster, scissoring his fingers and stretching her forcefully.

"Sasukeee~!"

He rubbed at her clitoris and her vision blurred. "Just what, Sakura?" He tugged on her clit with his thumb and index. "Say it."

She panted heavily, green eyes unfocused and darkened with lust. "Sasuke…"

He pushed her legs opened and pulled her hips to him forcefully. Her eyes dilated, feeling the tip of his erection nudging her throbbing labia.

"I need you…," she gasped breathily.

"Where?" he growled deeply, burying his head to her neck. He pushed his tip slightly forward, before pulling back out quickly. She moaned and groaned in distress mixed with maddening passion. "Where, Sakura?" He repeated the motion over and over again, driving her insane.

"In. Me!" she cried out feverishly. "Please, Sasuke-kun!"

"You asked for it," he growled, burying his face to her neck. In one swift thrust, he filled her to the hilt.

The pinknette cried out his name hoarsely, her nails dug deep into his shoulder, drawing blood. A searing pain consumed her body, felt like she was being torn apart from the insides. "Ah…," she whimpered. "It hurts…."

"Stay still," he gritted though his teeth. He was crushing her body to his chest, allowing no movement. His mouth found hers and he kissed her slowly. Sakura concentrate on returning his kiss, trying to forget the throbbing pain between her legs.

When he slowly withdrew and thrust back in, she whimpered. The pain was still there, but it was not too bad; she had had a rougher time with her monthly period. The third time, she finally felt her inner walls quivered in pleasure.

"Uhn…," she mewled blissfully. "Again…."

He pulled back and plunged harder.

She moaned, raising her hips to make a better angle for his penetration.

He groaned approvingly. He moved faster, going deeper, until he was pumping his cock into her vigorously.

"Sa-sasuke-kun!" she moaned. "Ah! Ah… ah… nnn…."

Writhing and trashing under him, she clutched him tighter. Harder. Faster. She begged for more, gasping and panting. Her hips started to meet him for thrust to thrust, her eyes screwed shut, mind blurred. Her painful nipples rubbed against his hard chest, sending her to a sensory overload. Her nails grated long red lines along his back. "More…," she groaned hoarsely into his ears.

Letting out a feral cry, he pulled all the way out and rammed his cock back into her forcefully.

The tension that had built up inside her body snapped.

"Sasukeeeee!" she screamed his name as she came.

Her orgasm left her shaking and making her senses go haywire. She could feel him pulsing and throbbing inside of her. Her inner walls continued to spasm and gripped his cock tightly.

Sasuke cursed, suddenly shifting the angle of his penetration and rammed back. Hard. The abrupt change sent Sakura's body into another violent orgasm. She cried out hoarsely, arching her back, her entire body tensed and spread out in raking pleasure.

He thrust once, twice, before finally toppling over the peak of his desire. She continued to moan and writhed below him. He groaned her name feverishly against her shoulder as a fierce shudder racked his body. He gripped her tightly, his cum filling her to the brim. She moaned his name in return.

~*~

With the last of his strength, he flipped them over so she was lying on top of him. Her sopping pink tresses were spreading across his chest. They lay there, panting for a long moment.

When it all quieted down, he started tracing lazy circles on her spine. She hummed approvingly.

"Sasuke?" she placed her chin to his chest.

He grunted to let her know that he was listening. His hand found her hair and started combing with his fingers absentmindedly. Her new body retained the original long pink hair, allowing him to play with the long tresses.

"Do you think… what we did was wrong?" she asked quietly, a trace of remorse in her voice.

Sasuke held her gaze, his obsidian eyes unreadable. "Does it matter?" he finally replied, although it was also a question.

His answer was so typical; she had to smile at that. It was mix of tender feelings, relief, regret, and longing. It was the smile he would keep seeing on her face from then on, but he did not know it yet. "I'm glad," she began softly; one hand lifted and touched his cheek tenderly. "I'm glad that I'm with you."

He tugged her forward and gave a soft kiss. Sakura closed her eyes slowly and melted into his embrace. Something suddenly poked her between her legs. She quickly pulled away, looking down at him in wonderment.

It took only one swing of his powerful leg and her back met with the soft mattress once again. Sakura squeaked at the sudden movement. His hands were on either side of her head, his body caging hers. He leaned down, "Why don't you show me," he spoke slowly, velvety, "… just how glad you are."

Sakura blushed prettily at his suggestive words, but she was never the one to shy away from a challenge. "Only if you show me how glad _you_ are, Sasuke-kun," she replied coyly.

"Hn," he replied, lips pulled slightly upwards in a smirk. He liked the view from his position. Her pink hair tousled and wet across the dark red sheets. Her eyes were dark green and half-lidded, clouded with desire. Her lips were spreading into a gentle but tired smile, the after effect of their activity.

Sasuke dove down to catch her lips with his. He slanted his mouth over hers, moving with hunger.

They mated once again and many times after that.

Sakura was happy.

What they had might not be love, because she was sure it could not be that pure and holy. But what they did was not just sex. He cared about her. He made deals with the devil just to be with her, and she was more than willing to do the same thing for him.

He was her world now. When she was with Sasuke, she could forget all their sins. And like he said, nothing else matters.

That was enough for her.

* * *

_No matter what we have become._

_No matter how much sacrifice we have to make._

_I still want to be with you._

_So, don't let go of my hand._

_Because with you, I feel that I can belong._

_Here in Shadowland._

* * *

**To be continued**

* * *

**.::End Note::.**

This chapter concludes the second arc. That answers how Sasuke and Sakura became a devourer, how they meet Kakashi and Naruto, and Sasuke's first deal to Orochimaru.

There are still some questions that are unanswered. Like, how did Sakura and Sasuke betrayed Orochimaru and finally reunited with Kakashi and Naruto? When will Sasuke and Sakura actually get married (yep, they're married)? How did Sakura get separated with the others that will eventually lead back to chapter 1? These all will be answered in the third arc. Look forward to it, ne?

I'm quite amazed that only one person asked about Itachi. Hahaha. Anyone who has a speculation, I'd love to hear it.

_Poll notes:_ "Seducing My Killer" wins a landslide victory, so I will be working on this oneshot piece after this. Another poll is up! Please go to my profile and vote! Go, now!

_Beta notes: vacancy is now closed! Thank you for everyone who showed interest! I will announce my choice via PM on July 10th._

**REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!**

Now if I can get the same response as last chapter, I will die happy. heheheh. the usual 0-9 scale if you please... or just plain rambling.


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